How to Win a Weasley
by Epic Spy
Summary: Rose and Scorpius fight all of the time despite that they are obviously meant for each other. Eventually, James, Albus and Teddy can't take the bickering anymore and decide to take matters into their own hands by writing... Writing a guide on how to win over any Weasley! Because three boys know exactly who should end up together.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Welcome to How to Win a Weasley! This random plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone, and so instead of finishing up the next chapter of my other fic, I wrote this. This will have a large dose of Scorpius and Rose- they are James, Al, and Teddy's inspiration- but focuses on other pairings too. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine!**

* * *

How to Win a Weasley

~Prologue~

"He's never going to win her over that way," said a disgruntled James Potter to his brother Albus while they watched their cousin Rose Weasley yell at Scorpius Malfoy.

"Win her over?" Albus said as he flipped right side up. He had been laying upside down on the couch next to James while he watched his two best friends fight.

"Course. They're crazy for each other," James said simply.

Albus gaped at his brother, "If you haven't noticed during the past three years, those two can't stand each other!"

"Albie, trust your wiser older brother here. That there is the beginnings of love." James said in a sing song voice.

Teddy Lupin entered the room and spotted the fighting couple and the Potter brothers. Scorpius had been coming around for Christmas ever since he and Albus had become friends during their first year. Three years later, the family knew to avoid Scorpius and Rose until they had their annual Christmas row. Teddy made his way over to his adoptive brothers and settled between them, "Merlin, they need to snog already."

"I know!" James cried.

"Does everyone think that?" Albus said, shaking his head, "Scorp probably will never figure out how to not fight with Rose unless we write it out for him."

"That's brilliant Al!" James said excitedly.

"I'm brilliant how?"

"We will write it out for them! We will get those two love-blind idiots together by creating a Rose Weasley dating guide!" James gave a dramatic flourish with his arms, nearly hitting Teddy in the head.

"James, could you even write a guide to win over a girl?" Teddy said with a roll of his eyes.

"I know a couple things about women," James said defensively, "I've been in my fair share of broom closets."

"But you're only fourteen...! You know, never mind. I don't want to know what you get up to at Hogwarts." Teddy shook his head.

"Besides, the mushy stuff is what you are for Ted. You're engaged to Vic, so you obviously know somethings about winning over a girl." James said eagerly.

Teddy laughed, "Yeah I suppose. It would have been helpful to have had a guide to help me win over her. We could have gotten together much sooner."

"Then why should we just write a guide for Rose?" Albus piped up, "We could write one for all the Weasleys and hand it out to those who are trying to win our cousins."

"You really are brilliant! But we can only give it to those we like. We can't give it to that slag Louis is dating right now, she needs to go." James said.

"We should write him a guide to better women," Albus said with a snicker.

"So are we all in?" James said, "Teddy for the romance, me for my brilliant insight and smooth talking and Albie for all those sweet things he says."

"I don't say sweet-"

"Oh shut it Al, even I notice how you talk to Lydia Wood and I graduated from Hogwarts before you even got there." Teddy said with a snort.

"Anyways!" James said, "We should call it, The Potter's Guide to Dating Weasleys!"

"Well, I'm technically a Lupin."

"That title sucks James."

"Well, I don't hear you guys coming up with anything!" James said as he glared at his two brothers.

The three boys watched Rose and Scorpius continue to scream at each other, Rose's face was matching her bright red hair while Scorpius seemed to have become paler from lack of oxygen. "How about _How to Win a Weasley_?" Albus finally said.

The two older boys sat for a second in thought, "I like it." James said finally.

"Kind of catchy," Teddy agreed.

"Then let us begin!" James said, leaping to his feet.

At that moment, Rose and Scorpius were finishing up, "I think that you are the most despicable person I've ever met!" Rose screamed, "You should have been sorted into Slytherin so you could rot in those dungeons and I wouldn't have to see your ugly face all the time!"

"Ugly, Weasel? I'm not the one with the Weasel face and the frizzy hair, and to top it off, I'm actually well liked."

"Well, I DON'T LIKE YOU!"

"Good, because I DON'T LIKE YOU!" The two of them stomped off in opposite directions.

"That one wasn't as bad," Albus said after he heard two doors slam in the distance.

"We should probably get started," Teddy said, "We need to sort through a whole mess of stuff to get those two together."


	2. How to Win Rose Weasley

When the boys are writing, their writing appears like this: Teddy **James** _Albus_

**Disclaimer: It's not mine!**

* * *

Chapter 1: How to Convince Scorpius Malfoy to Win Rose Weasley

On Christmas morning a few days later, Scorpius Malfoy found himself yanked into a room by his smiling best friend. "What are you doing?" He said with a frown to Albus.

"We," Albus said gesturing to James and Teddy who Scorpius just noticed were also in the room, "are here to give you your Christmas present."

"Which you are going to love!" James said excitedly.

Teddy threw him a look, "Will you please calm down? You've been a little too excited about this whole thing."

"Don't blame me for being extra excited, this will be _life changing_," James crossed his arms and pouted.

Scorpius stood impatiently in the middle of the room, "What's life changing?"

"This," Albus said as he handed over a small package. "Happy Christmas."

Scorpius unwrapped a small leather bound book that on the front read, _How to Win Rose Weasley_. He stared at the book and then back up into the faces of his best friend and his family. For a second he stood speechless before he finally choked out, "What the bloody hell is this?"

James pushed Albus aside as he stepped forward, "That there is all our knowledge combined to help you finally snog Rose."

"What makes you think that I want to snog Rose? I can't stand her!" Scorpius stomped over to the door, "Thanks I guess, Happy Christmas."

The three boys stood in shock for a moment after Scorpius abruptly left before Teddy gave a sly smile, "He took the book."

James grinned widely, "Oh he wants to snog her, he just doesn't want to admit it."

"I dunno, he seemed pretty upset," Albus said nervously.

None of them knew that a frustrated Scorpius had stomped away to a secluded corner and had opened the book, "There better be some good stuff in here."

* * *

HOW TO WIN ROSE WEASLEY- A GUIDE FOR SCORPIUS MALFOY

Part One- Learn to Be Nice

Rose is a nice person. She doesn't mind being challenged every so often, but kindness goes far in her book. That means no screaming at her all the time.

**If you stop insulting her then you could maybe be friends. Of course this guide isn't written to make you befriend Rosie, its to get the two of you to snog away all of the tension between you. Insults are not helpful for either option Scorpy.**

_If you want to get anywhere with Rose, start by complimenting her. Something small though. She might think you are being insincere if you suddenly tell her that you think she's not that bad._

* * *

It wasn't until he was back at Hogwarts that Scorpius could talk to Rose again. Generally, the two of them avoided each other due to their frequent rows, so part one was put into action right where Albus could watch- in Potions class.

Somehow, Scorpius and Rose had ended up as Potions partners for the year. Albus didn't want to work with either of them, as both struggled with the subject, and he had paired up with Lydia Wood instead. He was having a perfectly fine conversation with Lydia when he noticed that Scorpius and Rose were talking to each other. Shocked at the sight, Albus grabbed Lydia's arm to quiet her down, "Al what are you- Oh! No way." She spotted the two sworn enemies conversing and didn't bother to stop openly staring.

Now that Lydia had stopped talking, Albus could hear Scorpius speaking, "Could you cut up the roots while I stir? You're much better than I am at making sure they are all equally sized."

"Yeah sure I guess Malfoy. You are pretty much crap at slicing."

"Thanks Weasley."

"I would say anytime Malfoy, but no, not anytime." The two of them turned back to their tasks.

"How...?" Lydia said breathlessly, "Did I just witness Rose and Scorpius speaking to each other without screaming?"

"It's a Christmas miracle," Albus said with a grin.

Lydia gave him a questioning look, "Okay? And uh, Al..." She gave a pointed look at his hand that was still wrapped around her arm.

Albus blushed, "Sorry Lydia. I didn't mean to, I was surprised."

"I understand," She beamed, "It's not everyday you witness a miracle." They continued their previous conversation as Albus kept one eye on their potion, and the other on the silent Potions partners. Maybe Teddy and James were right for once.

After class, Albus ran to catch up with Scorpius. "You were talking to Rose!"

"Yes I was. We _are_ Potions partners," Scorpius said slowly.

"No, Scorp, you complimented her! Part one of the guide you know. Merlin, do you really like my cousin?"

Scorpius stopped in the middle of the hallway, "Can't a bloke just try to be friends with his best mate's cousin?"

"No."

"Well then too bad, because that is all that is going on." Scorpius continued off to Transfiguration with Albus trailing behind even more convinced that James and Teddy were correct.

* * *

Part Two- Give it Time

We all know that you're impatient Scorpius, so take it slow with Rose. Be nice until the two of you have a stable relationship before moving on to part three. That means no yelling, teasing, tormenting, or being a git in general around her at least until fourth year. You have a lot of making up to do for the past few years.

**But feel free to be a git around Al.**

_Actually, don't._

* * *

Scorpius turned the page where Teddy had written, "Merlin Scorp, give it time! Part three isn't visible until you've waited." Childishly, he slammed the book shut, "I don't want to give it time!"

Albus wandered into the dorm room with James tagging along behind him singing, "Scorpy and Rosie sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-"

"_Silencio_!" Scorpius gave a wave of his wand, and James' voice vanished.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Albus said as he flopped back onto his bed. James stubbornly sat on Scorpius' trunk so he could glare at the spell caster. The angle that he was seated at gave James a perfect view of the book in Scorpius' hands and he nearly fell off the trunk as he began waving his arms to get Albus' attention that Scorpius was holding their little leather bound guide. "You are reading it!" Albus added excitedly.

Scorpius tried to fix the situation, "Just because I'm reading your stupid little guide doesn't mean that I want to be anything more than friends with Rose. I'm actually tired of fighting with her, it's getting boring. It's the same arguments every time."

"Right, and James actually isn't mental." James threw a dirty look at his brother.

"Really, I just want to be friends and I'm curious as to why I can't see the next part. What sort of stupid joke is that?"

"You're impatient Scorp. We knew you would skip ahead and rush things with Rose, which will only get you smacked. Just be nice for a while. She's confused enough that the two of you managed to have a civil conversation for once."

"Wait, she's confused? She noticed?"

Albus gave him a look, "Of course she did, I think everyone in school has heard by now too."

Scorpius groaned, "Now I _have_ to be nice."

"Now you want to be nice," Albus corrected.

"Shut up." The two boys settled onto their beds for some time to relax much to James' displeasure. In his frustration, James snatched a pillow from another boy's bed and began smacking Scorpius with it until he finally gave James his voice back.

"There are other ways to politely tell me to stop talking Scorpy."

"Shut it James," The younger boys said at the same time.

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to write Teddy about how our brilliant plan is coming along. Bye Scorpy and Albie!"

There was a moment before Scorpius broke the silence after James left, "Do I really have to wait that long?" Albus responded by hitting him in the face with a pillow.

As word spread quickly around Hogwarts that Scorpius Malfoy was actually being kind to Rose Weasley, Teddy, James and Albus congratulated themselves for beginning to fix one of Hogwarts most frustrating relationships. Albus no longer worried that Scorpius and Rose would blow up at each other in Potions, or blow up their own potion. The two of them had even been spotted sitting in the Gryffindor common room at the same time without fighting.

When third year neared its end, Albus decided to take matters into his own hands. He was good friends with both Rose and Scorpius, and was tired of not being able to hang out with both of them at the same time. Once he tried to get his two best friends to get along, and at the end of that attempt, found himself covered in pumpkin juice. Now that things between the two Gryffindors seemed stable, Albus was ready to try again.

James helped out as he was firmly on what he dubbed Team Scorose. Scorpius had gone down to dinner with Albus as usual, while James distracted Rose until her friends had come back from dinner, leaving her no choice but to follow her cousin down to the Great Hall for food. Neither Scorpius or Rose noticed the Potter boys distracting them until the two ex-enemies came face to face with each other. There was an awkward silence as Rose and Scorpius stared at each other, silently waiting for the other to make the first move. James took a seat on the bench, and propped his head up on his hands with a silly smile on his face while Albus looked nervous.

"Could I sit here?" Rose asked after a moment, her narrowed eyes never leaving Scorpius.

Before either of her cousins could respond, Scorpius cut in, "Yes."

Rose slid into the bench across from him and immediately brought up the Defense Against the Dark Arts essay that was due in two days. James tuned out the conversation as he wasn't interested in hearing about the third year's homework, and instead watched the two not quite lovebirds interact. The two of them kept looking at each other James thought gleefully, and they were talking. Eventually, Albus busied himself with eating while Rose and Scorpius carried the conversation themselves. Both Potters were celebrating silently when they noticed that the redhead and the blond were frowning.

"If you spent more time studying you would get better grades Malfoy."

Red flag! Albus thought desperately, I thought they were on first name terms now.

"Some of us have better things to do Weasley other than waste our lives away with our noses in books!" The two teenagers had leaned closer to each other, both of them gripping the table tightly with their eyes narrowed.

James attempted to change the topic, "It looks like Ravenclaw is going to win the house cup this year, what a shame."

"Yeah, they must have earned house points from all their classwork," Albus loudly and lamely added.

Rose and Scorpius weren't paying attention to any distractions. They had stopped fighting, but now blue eyes remained locked onto grey as a silent battle of wits occurred. The Potters watched nervously, waiting for the real fight to erupt.

Fellow Gryffindor and sister to James and Albus, first year Lily Potter decided to appear during that tense moment, "Hey, what's going on?"

"Sh!" James hissed and roughly yanked on her arm so that she was also sitting on the bench.

The movement broke the moment causing Scorpius to glance down at the table, "I shouldn't have snapped at you Rose."

All three Potters gaped at Scorpius, while Rose looked slightly miffed, "Yeah you shouldn't of."

"I won't do it again."

"I highly doubt that," Rose snorted.

"No really." An awkward silence settled over the table until Rose and Scorpius simultaneously stood up.

They blinked at each other until Rose finally said, "I'm going to the library," and quickly left the table.

Scorpius awkwardly rocked back and forth on his heels until he knew that Rose would be far away before muttering, "I'm going... away," leaving the Potters to themselves.

Lily watched Scorpius leave the Great Hall, "Merlin those two need to be locked in a broom closet."

"Even you noticed?" Albus cried, "You're eleven."

"Nearly twelve," Lily corrected, "And as a girl, I have to notice these things."

"That makes James a girl then."

"Lame blow brother. But we are on track to getting those two together, so I'll let it slide."

* * *

Part 3- Be Friends

Friendship. You can handle that right Scorp?

**I don't think that he can handle being just friends with Rosie when he loves her.**

_It's not that difficult, just treat her like you would me or James. Actually, treat her better, she'd probably go back to hating you if you treated her like me and James._

**What's wrong with the way that he treats us?**

Merlin James, you don't treat a girl like you would a bloke! Are you really sure that you have been with a girl before?

_Unfortunately, I know he has._

**Don't question my amazingness with the ladies.**

_And on that note, we need to get back to helping Scorp guys!_

* * *

Fourth year was the turning point in Scorpius and Rose's relationship. The year began with Rose along with her friends Lydia Wood and Eva Pine joining Scorpius and Albus on the Hogwarts Express. That night, James appeared on Scorpius' bed jumping up and down in excitement, "Friends, friends, friends, Scorpy and Rosie are friends!" The other boys in the dorm stared at the fifth year as Scorpius lazily flicked his wand and hoisted James up in the air by his ankle.

Albus wasn't as eager to call the two friends, but one day before the Christmas hols, he found Scorpius and Rose sitting together at breakfast _smiling_. Cautiously, Albus approached the two, and slid onto the bench, "Morning guys."

"Morning!" Rose said cheerfully while Scorpius nodded.

"So, uh, what are you guys talking about?" Albus carefully said.

"Rosie thinks that the Chudley Cannons are the best Quidditch team in the league," Scorpius said with a laugh, "I'm just pointing out that she's incorrect."

"You are just sad that you don't have season tickets to your favorite team Scorp."

Albus gaped at the two, and before he could fully process what he was saying blurted out, "Rosie? Scorp? When did that happen?"

The two of them stared at him for a minute, "What do you mean?" Scorpius asked with a frown.

"Nicknames between you two?"

"Well, yeah," Rose said, "we are friends."

"When? What? How? Wait, just ignore me." Albus fell silent as his two confused best friends returned to their conversation. The three Gryffindors walked together to Charms while Scorpius managed to make Rose laugh twice on their way upstairs. Just before they entered the classroom, Albus found himself roughly getting pulled aside. He stumbled and nearly head butted his grinning brother.

"Merlin James!" Albus cried as he steadied himself, "A hello would get my attention."

"A hello would get their attention though," James said with a nod towards Rose and Scorpius who hadn't noticed Albus' sudden departure.

"What's going on?" Albus sighed.

"I'm saying we initiate part four of the guide, so back off of them little bro."

"Wouldn't Scorp say something if he wanted to be alone with Rose?"

"Albie, you are thick. Would you tell Scorpius that you wanted some alone time with lovely Lydia to win her heart? No, that makes you sound like a girl. Which is exactly why you let them have some time together, and just back off. Besides," James interrupted before Albus could protest, "you can partner with Lydia!" With a sudden shove, James pushed Albus into Lydia who was at that moment walking by.

"Er, sorry." Albus caught Lydia's hand and steadied her, "My brother," he turned to point out James only to find that he had vanished, "who was there a minute ago, got um, enthusiastic about a plan of his."

Lydia's dark eyes sparkled, "You mean getting Rose and Scorpius together? He enlisted me in the cause a long time ago."

"And he never told me?" Albus muttered. "Well, that's great! So what have you been-"

"Participating in girl talk," Lydia gave him a wink, "Let me handle Rose and don't you worry. Now, what do you think, should the two of us pair up and let the two of them work together?"

Now Albus was confused, he was pretty sure that she was talking about pairing in Charms, but the two of them were still holding hands and neither made a move to stop. Did she mean pair up more than just in Charms? Before Albus could summon his Gryffindor courage to ask, James reappeared, "Focus on Rose and Scorpius! You guys can go have a moment later, just make sure those two get together first." For good measure he smacked Albus' hand away from Lydia's and gave her a winning smile before jauntily skipping away down the hall.

Lydia laughed, and Albus hoped she didn't notice his blush, "Come on, I think today we are learning to banish things," she said as she held open the door to the classroom.

"Excellent, I really want to banish James the next time I see him."

* * *

Part Four- Alone Time

Congrats Scorp, Rose no longer hates your guts!

_I can't believe that you have reached this part. Teddy and James, I thought that you were mental._

Only Jamesie is mental. Anyways, this is where things begin to become more important. Rose and you need to spend sometime together. Alone. That means no Albus and no James at all.

**But I want to be there when they finally declare their undying love for each other!**

James!

**Fine. They won't see me, but I do have my ways.**

_I actually have no clue what you are talking about for once._

Ignore those two. Just go for a walk or something with Rose.

* * *

Scorpius was sitting outside the Burrow on an old stone bench sacrificing being warm for some moments of peace. It didn't take long for another figure to leave the packed house and begin to head towards him. If it had been anyone other than Rose, Scorpius would have ran off to a more private location, but he gave her a smirk as she approached. With a gloved hand, she brushed off the light powered snow before she flopped down next to him, "I wonder if anyone else finds Christmas as exhausting as I do."

"If their last name is Weasley, I'm sure they agree," he said with a small smile.

The two sat in companionable silence as they watched a few snowflakes fall from the sky before Rose spoke again, "Funny how a year ago we would probably be arguing right now."

"Ah, the annual Rose and Scorpius row. Should we continue that tradition?"

"Merlin no! I don't like fighting with you."

Scorpius gave her a quizzical look, "You didn't like fighting with me?"

"Course not, who likes fighting?"

"Then why did you fight with me?"

Rose stared at him, her eyes wide. Just before Scorpius gave up on ever hearing her answer she spoke, "I don't know. At first it was because my dad expected us to fight. Then Albus wanted us to be friends and I didn't want to listen to him telling me who to be nice to. I thought that you might be a decent bloke around the end of second year, but I thought you wouldn't talk to me if I didn't fight with you. Merlin I sound silly."

Scorpius shook his head, "I thought you hated me and wouldn't speak to me if I wasn't screaming at you to listen."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So, everything we said to each other was a lie?"

"Everything."

"What exactly did you lie about?" Both of them had leaned closer and now found their faces inches apart.

Scorpius found his eyes flicking down to Rose's lips, "Rose-"

"Dinnertime!" Came Grandma Weasley's call and the two teenagers sprung away from each other blushing.

"Er, we should go," Scorpius said without meeting Rose's eyes. The two of them hurried back towards the house while Scorpius silently berated himself. He was not attracted to Rose Weasley at all. The thought of snogging her senseless did cross his mind, but he was a teenage boy. She was only sort of pretty, and only if you were attracted to coppery wavy haired, blue eyed bookworms. Friendship had been his goal and he had accomplished that, and friendship didn't mean you snogged each other.

Which is why a few hours later, Scorpius refused to open the guide no matter how curious he was to see what the next step was. The significant looks that James, Albus and Teddy gave him were ignored, and he especially refused to open it when the three boys yanked him into a room on Christmas Eve to tell him to do so.

"I just want to be friends!" Scorpius yelled with his arms defensively folded across his chest. "Why do you all assume that I want to snog Rose?"

"There isn't anyone else that you want to snog right now then?" Teddy asked awkwardly, "Like another girl, or oh, do you not like girls?"

"Yes I like girls!" Scorpius cried exasperatedly.

"Then soon you will cave," James clapped a hand on Scorpius' shoulder, "We will make sure of that."

The plan to make sure that Rose and Scorpius got together was initiated two days after Christmas. Scorpius was going back to Malfoy Manor later that evening, and was spending his last afternoon with Rose. The two of them were coming down the stairs when suddenly there was a cry of "Mistletoe!"

Scorpius froze, and found most of the Weasley cousins waiting at the bottom of the stairs, grinning at him and Rose who were indeed under mistletoe. "You have to kiss!" James called out with a wide grin.

The two looked back at each other. Rose licked her lips and Scorpius swallowed, but instead of kissing her, he opened up his big mouth, "But I don't want to kiss her."

The Weasleys all fell silent. "Oh you didn't just say that," Teddy said before dropping his head into his hands. "We might actually have their annual fight."

Rose turned bright red, "Well sorry that you don't want to kiss me, it's not like I wanted to kiss you either."

"Why wouldn't you want to kiss this?" Scorpius gestured at his face, "Any girl at Hogwarts would jump at the chance to kiss me."

"If you've forgotten, I said I didn't want to kiss you and I'm a Hogwarts girl."

"Excuse me then, any normal Hogwarts girl would kiss me." Albus winced as Scorpius and Rose began to launch into another fight.

"Then normal girls have poor taste in boys."

"Well what is your taste in boys if you don't like me?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"Not slimy gits like you!"

With Rose's biting comment, Scorpius narrowed his eyes, "Sorry that you don't want me like the rest of Hogwarts does. I think that you are missing out." With his head held high, he marched out the door and outside to plop down on the stone bench, while Rose ran up to her room before anyone could see the tears in her eyes.

James quickly grabbed a shocked Teddy and Albus to pull them aside, "We have a problem."

"No really?" Teddy sarcastically quipped.

"How do we fix that?" Albus asked.

"We have to get Scorpius to see that he likes Rose, we probably should have started with that as step one. He's still in denial," Teddy said with a sad shake of his head.

"We could set Rose up with someone on a fake Hogsmead date maybe. We could try the old jealousy route," James offered.

"No offense, but your last idea sucked James," Teddy said. The mistletoe had been James' idea, and now that it had failed spectacularly, Teddy wasn't too keen on listening to his advice.

"At least we know that Scorpius likes girls," Albus said as he looked outside.

"Yeah after that incident with that Hufflepuff girl last year I was pretty sure-" James finally saw what Albus was looking at. "Merlin's saggy pants, is that Roxie?" The three boys burst outside to find their cousin Roxanne wrapped around Scorpius. James was livid, "You. Do. Not. Snog. A. Cousin. Other. Than. Rose!" He punctuated each word with a smack against Scorpius' back.

A disgruntled Scorpius pulled away from Roxanne, "I can snog anyone I want."

"Don't you forget, I'm still here," Roxanne said with a quirked eyebrow. "I can choose to snog Scorpius if he is willing, and he is more than willing." She pulled his lips back to her own.

"Ugh, Roxie this is so wrong. You two don't work at all, and you are a sixth year! Why do you want to go around snogging a fourth year?" Teddy said with a grimace.

"Because he's a bloody good at it, now shove off," the two of them busied themselves again.

The three boys didn't speak until they reached their room. "I'm chalking that up as one of the things that I never wanted to see in my life ever," Albus said in disgust.

"Roxie? Really Scorpius?" James ran his fingers through his hair in an uncharacteristically serious moment, "She is the only one who would go out and snog him on a whim, and he's probably feeling terrible about how he treated Rose right now, so might as well get it all out of his system with the first willing participant who will make him forget everything."

Teddy watched Scorpius suddenly pull away from Roxie and stand up. Roxanne seemed upset at what Scorpius was saying to her, she stood up, smoothed her dark hair and stomped away. "Scorpius does have some sense then," Teddy pointed out. "Maybe he's coming to his senses on his own and James doesn't need to come up with another failure of a plan."

"Not all of my plans are failures Ted."

"Just most of them," Albus amended as he watched the disheveled blond boy head back towards the house. "We should probably go see if Scorp has finally had the sense snogged into him." The three boys began to go downstairs to intercept Scorpius, but Teddy who was leading the way threw out his arms to stop them on the landing.

"Ted what are you-" Teddy covered James' mouth and pointed at the scene at the bottom of the stairs. Rose had assumed that Scorpius had already left and was heading downstairs to go outside at the same time that Scorpius was heading upstairs to get his bags to leave.

"I'm sorry," Scorpius whispered just loud enough for the boys to hear.

"You should be," Rose mumbled, and moved to turn away.

Gently, Scorpius pulled her back, "We are back under the mistletoe you know." Rose glanced up and saw to her horror, that they had stopped under the dreaded plant.

"I don't want you to kiss me just because you feel bad for me." Scorpius didn't say anything back. Instead, he gently leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

James, Albus and Teddy silently went nuts. They exchanged excited high fives while James danced around in a circle. They missed the couple pull away from each other, staring at each other in shock. Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but Rose quickly ran away before he could utter a single word. The frustrated boy ran his fingers through his light hair and turned to get his bags to leave when he spotted Teddy and Albus joining James in jumping around in excitement, "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" He growled as he pushed past them on his way upstairs.

"Rosie and Scorpy together at last!" James sang in excitement.

"We are not together," Scorpius spat as he grabbed his bags from the room that the boys had shared over Christmas.

"I thought that- We all did see them kiss right?" Albus asked.

"Yes, we kissed, but then she ran away before I could say anything!"

"So you do like her!" James crowed while Teddy gave him a 'don't push it' look.

"Yeah. I suppose. I mean ugh, Roxie comes outside and throws herself at me and all I can do is wonder why it wasn't Rose that I was snogging."

"You have got to patch things up with her," Teddy said, "I'm sure that she feels the same way."

"She's the one that ran away from me," Scorpius said as he left. A short floo ride later, he was back to his silent Rose-free house. He politely greeted his parents before he went upstairs to his room to search for the one item he kept thinking about. Hidden at the bottom of his Hogwarts trunk he pulled out the little book he had gotten for Christmas last year and prepared to do anything to win over Rose once and for all. He didn't know that there was a red haired girl laying in a snowbank miles away wondering how she was going to fix things with him.

* * *

Part Five- Sweet Gestures

Rose will melt into a puddle of goo if you do something sweet for her. Figure out what kind of chocolate she likes and give it to her when she has a bad day. She will be touched that you remembered what she likes and will feel much better.

_Flowers are a safe bet too, but don't give her a rose, that is so cliche._

**Or you could just go for the kill and snog her at this point.**

Please don't listen to James.

* * *

Rose was curled up on her Hogwarts bed a week later hugging her pillow to her chest as she talked to Lydia and Ava. "He kissed me! He goes and snogs Roxie and then he kisses me! Of course I had to run away after that. I can't stand him."

"But I thought that you thought that he was 'an attractive mostly decent bloke,'" Lydia said.

"I was starting to think that he was! Then he goes all crazy and- and ugh! I can't think straight!" Rose flopped back on her bed and covered her face with her pillow while she gave a muffled shout.

"Have you talked to him?" Ava asked gently, "Maybe he wants to explain what happened."

"I don't think I could handle him saying that the kiss meant nothing to him, but I can't handle him saying that he wants us to be more than just friends either! Why did he kiss me?"

Lydia stood up and headed towards the door, "Rosie, I'm pretty sure that you like the boy. I'd give him a chance to talk to you."

"Where are you off to?" Ava asked as Lydia left.

"To talk to Albus," she replied and ignored Ava's giggle and Rose's call to not break her cousin's heart. She descended the stairs and found Albus curled up in a chair writing away. "Hey Al, what are you doing?"

Albus smiled as she claimed the chair next to him, "Working on my part for _How to Win Molly Weasley_. James said that she was a hopeless case and she got a little upset, so I stopped working on Roxie's," Albus held up a stack of parchment, "to work on Molly. Both of them are barmy though, so it's fairly amusing."

"You are really enjoying this aren't you?"

"Yup. Too bad Scorpius and Rose are not cooperating though, it would be nice to actually get those two together at last."

"I do have some insight from Rose," Lydia suddenly remembered.

"You didn't just come here to see me?" Albus said with a James like grin.

"You wish. She's confused, and wants things to go back to how they were. If Scorp told her flat out that he liked her though, although she denies it now, she would be over the moon."

"Hm, well I think he has an idea to try and patch things up," Albus said as he glanced at his best friend who had claimed a chair in the corner to sulk in perfect view of the staircase up to the girl's dorms.

"I don't think he will be able to put his plan into action tonight, Rose is dead set on staying up in the dorm."

"You sweet little couple could always ask me to help," James said as he suddenly appeared behind Albus who jumped and knocked over his ink.

"Hi James," Lydia said cooly as she pretended that his sudden appearance didn't freak her out.

"You have got to stop doing that!" Albus grumbled as he waved his wand to vanish the spilled ink.

"Stop helping you?" James said with wide innocent eyes, "Too bad I know exactly how to get Rosie to come downstairs."

Albus looked at his brother who was barely hiding a grin, to his upset, sulking best friend, "Why do I feel that I am going to regret asking for your help?"

Rose was plagued by dreams of Scorpius ever since he kissed her. Sometimes he would just smirk and hold her hand while in some he would snog her senseless. Tonight was a particularly good dream where Scorpius had her pressed against a wall in the common room and was kissing her roughly. Rose gasped as he pulled back and smirked while his grey eyes danced in the flickering firelight. Oh Merlin he was attractive. She pulled him back towards her but just before they kissed again, he turned into James.

"ROSIE!" Rose jumped awake to find James hovering next to her bed.

Absolutely livid, she grabbed her wand and leapt out of bed, "JAMES SIRIUS POTTER, GET OUT! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?" James dodged the spells she threw at him as her roommates muttered that there was way too much noise for the late hour.

"You'll never find out Rosie if you don't catch me! And I bet you can't hex me," James taunted as he danced away from Rose's spells as he lead her downstairs.

Rose burst into the common room seconds behind James, but froze as she realized that the common room was empty, except for an exhausted fourth year boy who had been waiting for her. It was a trap, Rose realized as Scorpius snapped to attention when he saw her. James tricked her into coming to talk to Scorpius in the common room, alone. Rose's cheeks turned red as she remembered her dream and turned to hurry back to the relative safety of her bed, but Scorpius was faster, "Rose wait, please."

She stopped with one foot on the staircase. Scorpius Malfoy never said please, he just took what he wanted. Curious, she turned slightly, "What do you want Malfoy?"

"To apologize," he said, "_Accio_ present." A small wrapped present flew over from the chair where he had forgotten it in his haste to stop Rose from leaving. "I heard you saying that you needed this book to help understand Arithmancy, and I know reading calms you so I figured that this might be a good way to say I'm really sorry."

Rose unwrapped _The Ultimate Guide to Arithmancy_, and glanced up at Scorpius, "What exactly are you sorry about?"

"For making you upset, I want you to be happy Rose," He said earnestly.

Rose gaped at him, he wanted her to be happy? The idea that snogging him in the common room would make her happy crossed her mind, but she couldn't- wouldn't- act on that idea. "Who are you and what have you done with the Malfoy I would row with for months on end?"

"He grew up."

Suddenly, Rose wasn't so tired anymore, and didn't want to leave Scorpius to head up to bed. "I think I'm going to start reading this now." She claimed the comfy red couch in front of the fire while Scorpius hesitated as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do next. "You could come sit by me if you'd like," she added shyly.

Albus found the two the following morning, leaning against each other as they slept. He didn't mention that the two of them fell asleep with their hands intertwined and Scorpius never mentioned it to Rose after he woke up and gently pried his fingers away from her grip.

* * *

Part Six- Drop Some Hints

Here you go Scorpius, this is it, the last step before you better make your move.

**You should have made your move ages ago.**

_And this is why you have never been in a stable relationship James._

**Your eternal patience is why you have never snogged a girl Al.**

I'm ignoring you guys. You have to begin to show her how you feel. Rosie needs some time to think that the two of you could actually work, but she won't even consider the option if she doesn't think that you feel the same way.

**Here is how you show her that you like her: SNOG HER.**

_Oh Merlin James, the answer to any girl problem is not to snog them!_

I swear, I will kick you two off of the project unless you give some valid advice!

**Sorry Teddy.**

_James started it, but sorry._

Start spending more time with Rose, smile at her, flirt, if you get bold enough, hold her hand. When she starts to flirt back, then ask her out to Hogsmead and I'm sure the rest will be history.

**GO SCORP GO!**

* * *

Hint that he liked Rose, and then go for it. He gave a small laugh, they made it sound so easy! Gone were the days where he was convinced that he didn't like Rose. He was one hundred percent sure that he liked her, a lot. She just wasn't a girl that he wanted to snog and forget, he really wanted her to be happy. He wanted moments like the night where they fell asleep in the common room, where her eyes shone as she cracked open a new book with her hair wild from sleeping on it. He wanted to kiss her properly, not just a small peck under some mistletoe. Oh Merlin he wanted her. He scrunched his eyes shut and banished his thoughts that were beginning to turn towards a dangerous path.

"You alright Scorp?" Rose asked giving his shoulder a little bump with her own. The two of them were sprawled out in the grass on an uncharacteristically warm April day.

"Course I am, the sun is shining, it's the weekend, and I'm with you." Oh if James could hear the sappy stuff coming out of his mouth right now, he'd never live it down. Rose flushed and glanced away from her best friend. Comments like that seemed to fall from his lips easily now. She couldn't remember when insults used to come just as easily. Gently she brushed his hand as she situated herself to be more comfortable in the grass. Neither of them noticed the blush on the other's cheeks, and if they did, neither would acknowledge it. Of course the two Potters who were spying on their favorite project from behind a tree noticed.

"He's got to make a move sooner or later," Albus grumbled. "You don't have a perfect moment like this ever."

"Ugh I know, they are just sickening to watch," James added, "'I'm with you' really Scorpy?"

The third member of their group wasn't spying on Rose and Scorpius, "You boys really are obsessed with getting those two together," Lydia remarked.

Her boyfriend smirked at her, "Just because the two of them are perfect for each other like the two of us are." James gagged as Lydia giggled.

"I'm so glad that you finally decided to ask out the 'girl of your dreams' Albie, but stop flirting and help me figure out how to get those two to make the last jump."

"Well," Albus watched Rose brush a piece of Scorpius' long hair out of his eyes, "I think we just need to get them in really close proximity to each other while they aren't thinking straight."

"That's it! We will give Rose the Draught of Living Death, and Scorpius will be so distraught when he thinks that she died that when he discovers that she is alive, he will snog her!" James beamed at the couple.

"James, you are an idiot." Albus said incredulously.

"I actually have a better idea," Lydia said, "but we are going to need Teddy's help."

Rose stormed into the common room two days later with a letter crushed in her hand, "SCORPIUS MALFOY!" Scorpius glanced up from where he was playing Exploding Snap with Albus, Lydia, Ava and James and paled when he saw Rose's furious expression. "HOW DARE YOU!"

"Rose, what did I do?" Scorpius asked as Rose swatted him upside his head.

"YOU USED ME! I THOUGHT THAT PERHAPS YOU JUST LIKED BEING WITH ME BUT NO, WHO WOULD WANT TO BE WITH ME?"

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about!" Scorpius cried as he grabbed Rose's arm to stop her from hitting him.

She flung the paper at his face, "Teddy said that you were asking about how to ask Roxanne to Hogsmead. He said that you had been hanging out with me so that you knew more about my family and how to get further with her!"

"Rose I never-"

"Well you did snog her over Christmas!"

"Rose I don't want Roxie, I swear!"

"You have lied to me before Malfoy and I know that you are lying to me now!"

"I promised you I wouldn't lie to you ever again!"

"YOU LIED THEN TOO!"

"Rose listen-" He slowly stood up.

"Why Scorpius would you ever want to hang out with me anyways? I guess I shouldn't be angry at you," Rose laughed bitterly, blinking back tears as she turned away, "Roxie is a pretty girl, you have great taste."

"I don't like Roxanne!"

Rose whirled back around, "STOP LYING!" Scorpius did the first thing he could think of, he grabbed her and crushed his lips against hers. His hands cupped her face as Rose tangled her fingers in his hair.

James jumped up whooping, "ATTENTION GRYFFINDOR! SCORPIUS AND ROSE ARE FINALLY TOGETHER!"

The tangled couple didn't notice the cheers that went up or the money that was exchanged. (Later Lily would tell Rose that she made thirty Galleons by betting that they would end up together before fifth year.) Scorpius pulled away after a minute, "Rose, I like _you_."

She grinned back, "I think like you too Scorpius," before she kissed him again.

* * *

_Dear Teddy,_

_Mission accomplished! Who's our next victim?_

_Love, Albus and James_

_-And thanks from Rose and Scorpius_

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope that you enjoyed it. **

**Thank you to AjGirl15 and my anonymous reviewer for their kind comments! I'm glad that you liked the first part, and I hope that you have enjoyed this next chapter.**

**Even though Scorpius and Rose are together, they will be making appearances throughout the story, and of course there will be plenty more of the lovely meddling Teddy, Albus, and James.**

**Which would you like to see next time on How to Win a Weasley:  
How to Win the Obnoxiously Uptight Hopeless Molly Weasley (Featuring Teddy as Molly's mentor.)  
or  
How to Win the Heart of the Biggest Flirt, Roxanne Weasley (Featuring James as Roxie's mentor and fellow unhelpful flirt.)**

**Let me know which one you want next!**


	3. How to Win Molly Weasley

**Disclaimer: It's not mine!**

* * *

Chapter 2: How to Win Molly Weasley

"TEDDY! I need to talk to you," Molly Weasley, the daughter of Percy Weasley burst into the room that she was sharing with Victorie and their sisters over Christmas break at the Burrow. Molly had assumed that he would be with his fianceé, and as usual, her hunch was correct. Too bad she hadn't found them a bit sooner.

Teddy groaned and rolled off Victorie as Molly interrupted the couple. "Not that I don't love you Molls, but you better have a good reason to be here," Victorie said as she fixed her strawberry blonde hair and moved to the edge of her bed.

"We were having a perfectly good snogging session," Teddy muttered as he buttoned his shirt.

"It looks like snogging was about to become shagging," Molly said indelicately while her ears turned red from embarrassment. "And it is important, I just was talking to James-"

"James is not important right now!" Teddy growled, "I told him to leave me alone and that I didn't care at the moment that Rose and Scorpius kissed because Vic finally got away from Fleur-"

"It's not about that," Molly cut him off, "It's about my life."

"That's okay then," Victorie said as she gave Teddy a pointed look to keep him from kicking her favorite cousin out of the room.

He took a deep breath, and his hair which had turned a fiery red from a combination of embarrassment and anger changed back to it's usual teal, "What's going on?"

"James mentioned something about writing a book about how to win each Weasley over, I want to see what you wrote about me."

"That's why you came in here? But- You could have- Gah- MOLLY!" Teddy cried.

"Molls, Teddy will come find you later, but I'd head out for now," Victorie said calmly as she patted Teddy on the arm. Molly quickly left the room and climbed the stairs up to the attic, the only place in the house that most likely wouldn't be crawling with cousins. She reached her sanctuary at last after passing James, Fred, and Louis on the stairs whispering to each other. Her steps kicked up dust as she made her way over to the corner of the room that she had claimed as her own at the beginning of break. A few pillows and blankets along with her latest muggle novel made this little corner heavenly.

If she closed her eyes and listened though, she could hear the noise that all of her cousins were making. As the second oldest cousin in the Weasley clan, Molly spent most of her time hiding from her immature family or in the presence of her favorite cousin, Victorie. The two of them had gone to Hogwarts together and both ended up as Gryffindors. Vic was known for her looks and fun personality while Molly was known for her grades and being self-righteous. Which is probably why three years after they had graduated, Vic was engaged while Molly had a promising career as an editor at a wizarding book company and was very single.

Which is why Molly had burst in on Teddy and Vic after James told her that they were working on putting together a book that was guaranteed, in James' words, "to get someone to snog you until you forget your name." Her sister Lucy often said that Molly was a step away from becoming desperate and needed to just accept that she would become an old cat lady and stop clinging to the idea that she would find a man. Unlike Lucy, Molly was an optimist like her mother. She was smart, fairly pretty, not Veela status like Vic but decent and successful, someone had to be out there for her.

Molly cracked the spine of her book and kicked back into the pillows to read. Merlin knew that she was tired of waiting, but now that Teddy knew to come find her, she could wait until after he and Vic were done shagging.

* * *

HOW TO WIN OVER MOLLY WEASLEY

Part One- Be Smart

Molly is practically a genius, so you need to impress her with your brains.

**You better be good-looking too. We aren't writing this guide to have our cousins end up with people with an arse as a face.**

_James we aren't talking about looks right now, Molly likes smart people, not male models._

**I'm sure she wouldn't turn down a male model.**

Okay, to prevent you two from fighting, let's say that this guy is insanely attractive. He also needs to be smart because smart is the new sexy. 

**If that's the new sexy, then I'm bringing sexy back.**

_Oh Merlin no. Please kill me before that happens._

* * *

Molly returned to work with dampened spirits the following week. She had spent the past week with Vic and Teddy discussing this guide idea. Apparently, it had started as an idea of getting Rosie with Scorpius Malfoy- a match she wholeheartedly approved of. However, they had focused on getting those two together and hadn't begun to work on her own book.

"I don't even know who you are currently in to Molls," Teddy had said a couple days before break ended when he was playing Exploding Snap with the two girls.

"I don't even know who I'm currently into," Molly scoffed, "I'd like to find someone but I don't want another Pratt." Victorie grimaced. Matt Pratt- an unfortunate name for a scum of a man- had been Molly's only boyfriend. The two of them dated during sixth year around the time that Teddy and Victorie got together. Pratt was a Hufflepuff who seemed to be infatuated with Molly, and she was more than willing to find herself in broom closets with him. About a month after they started dating, he broke up with her by saying that he didn't want to date her anyways, he'd only wanted to be closer to Victorie.

"Pratt's your problem," Teddy said as he placed another card. "You've been so hurt by him, that you can't stop and think that there's a guy out there that would like you for just being you."

"Makes sense," Victorie agreed, "Pratt was- is- a git, but Molls, you've got to find yourself a handsome man. I know you don't exactly need a man to make you happy, but you've got to be lonely in your flat by yourself."

"I'm fine, I just would like to be able to say I've legitimately dated someone other than that git."

"So you are lonely," Victorie said.

"No, I'm fine." Molly threw her card down with too much force and blew up the stack.

With the insistence of her cousin and Teddy, Molly was now scouring the staff of Phoenix Publications for attractive men. After she poured herself her third cup of coffee that day, (It was easier to look for men when she got up from her desk.) Molly realized she needed to amend her previous statement. She wanted to find an attractive, single man. She had been chatting with a coworker until she noticed the ring on his finger. Disgusted with herself, she had returned to her desk and decided to give up the search. Flirting with a married man, was that going to be her new low point? Had she become that desperate? She pulled the manuscript that she was marking up off of the top, and waved her wand, muttering a simple spell which would show her any mistakes the author had made. Working was better than thinking about her nonexistent love life. Words made sense, and didn't leave her feeling empty inside.

Later that night, Molly curled up in her bed in her empty flat and once again realized that she had been wrong. Printed words did leave her feeling empty inside, because they couldn't talk back.

The next day, Molly kept her head down at work. She only got one cup of coffee, and had made it through thirty pages of editing so far when someone came sauntering up to her desk. She glanced up from her work only too have her eyes widen, a very attractive man with dark hair and bright blue eyes was leaning against her desk smirking at her. It took a minute before she could compose herself and calm her nerves to ask, "May I help you?"

"Aw did I get your hopes up?" The man said with a grin, "Sorry Molls."

Molly stared for a moment before it all clicked, "Teddy!" She hissed at the metamorphmagus, "What are you doing here?"

"Auror business," He said, "I got lucky that I ended up here and I decided that I would play matchmaker while I was on the job."

"Oh," Her cheeks turned pink, "I guess I should say thank you, but how are you going to do that?"

Teddy flicked a piece of her red hair that had fallen out of her bun, "Watch me work my magic, but I can tell you that I've discovered what body type you are attracted to." He winked and sauntered of as Molly bent her bright red face over her work and tried to block out any thoughts about how disturbingly attractive Teddy looked in that form.

Five hours later, Molly was still disturbed when two men came up to her desk. One had sandy hair and brown eyes while the other had copper colored hair and hazel eyes. Molly's boy addled brain immediately thought that the copper-haired men was fairly attractive, so when one of the men turned out to be Teddy who had once again morphed, she was thanking her lucky stars that it wasn't the more attractive of the two. "Molls," the sandy haired Teddy said, "This is Robert Hayze, Rob's taking you out tonight."

"He is?" Molly then realized how rude it was to ignore the poor man and turned to him, "You are?"

"Yeah, Matt here-" That must be Teddy's alias, Molly thought. She couldn't believe that he took the name of the one person she couldn't stand. "-has been telling me about you all day. I thought you sounded nice, so how about we go grab a drink at the Leakey Cauldron?"

"That sounds wonderful," Molly said gracefully, "Let me just clean up my desk."

Half an hour later, Molly was heading out on her first date in years. Robert was nice enough. He had been a Hufflepuff a few years ahead of Molly and seemed decent. The conversation seemed to be lacking though, but she wrote it off as first date awkwardness. Tom the barman kept the firewhisky flowing, and Robert and Molly began to loosen up. She wasn't sure what she was laughing at, but she couldn't remember why she didn't think that the date was going well in the beginning. He walked her to her door at the end of their date, but before she could head inside, Robert had her pinned to the wall and sloppily kissed her. Molly shoved him away, "No Rob-"

"Come on," He whispered, and Molly cursed herself for the tingles that went up her spine at his rough voice, "Do what would feel good."

"She said, no," Molly looked up and discovered a very angry Victorie approaching them. "Move it, slime," she said, drawing her wand. Robert quickly stumbled away. Victorie quietly moved to Molly's side and handed her a small vial, "Drink this."

Molly gulped down the blue liquid, and gasped as she sobered up. The events of the night came into focus and she stared at her cousin and best friend. "Oh my Merlin," she blinked back angry tears, "That was- Oh Vic if you hadn't come!" Molly couldn't hold back tears, "I'm just going to die alone like Lucy says!"

Victorie hugged her, "Molls, when is Lucy ever right? I'm sorry that Teddy set you up with such a pig, he didn't really consider that Robert would pressure you. I decided to come check up on you just in case. Next time you have a date, things will go better I promise."

"Next time?" Molly hiccuped.

"Course, I'm not letting you give up because you met two terrible men." Molly gave a shaky laugh and the two cousins stayed up talking until late into the night about how things probably couldn't get any worse when it came to Molly's love life.

"You've just got to find a smart man," Victorie said sleepily, "Idiot's don't get their date sloshed and then try to make a move."

"Mmm," Molly responded as she drifted to sleep where her dreams were a disturbing mixture of Pratt, Robert, and a dark haired, blue eyed man.

* * *

Part Two- Be a Gentleman

I am sick and tired of Molly ending up with gits, so you better be a gentleman. Molly is my second favorite Weasley cousin, and she's like a sister to me, so if you hurt her, I will hurt you.

**Second favorite cousin? What does that make us?**

My not biological brothers.

**_If Molly is your sister, then what does that make me?_**

Lily?

**How'd you get this?**

_**Nicked this page from Al's room. I couldn't help but jump in. I second Teddy's comments, be a gentleman or I will hurt you too.**_

_I'd listen to her. I just got the snot beat out of me by my little sister- without using magic! By the way, I'd like some help please. I'm currently tied up to my desk and can't get these knots untied or reach my wand._

**I knew that Lily and I were related!**

* * *

Molly kept to herself more than ever at work. She would talk to Hannah, an older witch who was fond of gossip that worked at the desk next to her, but she refused to look at anyone else. Teddy would pop by every so often, still whispering about finding her someone. "I've given up," she snapped at Teddy while she got her daily coffee. "Couldn't you go annoy Vic? She'd gladly snog you to get you to shut up."

"Molly, Molly, Molly. You're asking for a miracle here, and miracles don't happen overnight. Like Rose and Scorpius, it took us over a year to finally get those two together, and we knew that they were meant for each other!"

"Teddy," she hissed, she refused to call him Matt when they weren't around other people, "I'm grateful that you are trying to help, but really, I'm fine. Let's just leave it at that."

"I'll help you if it's the last thing I do!" Teddy cried dramatically while they walked back to her desk.

"What is wrong with you?"

Months passed, and Molly had just figured that she would let life just happen. No cousin meddling allowed. No Teddy, no Albus, and especially no James. Easter had been eventful as she had to deal with all three boys discussing all the men within three years of her that they knew. Eventually she had threatened them to make them go away, while James called after her, "Fine, we will just go help Dom now!"

"You do that!" She called back while she trekked up to her spot in the attic.

July was the calmest month at work. Many people took time of to go on holiday, but Molly liked being able to kick back at her desk and enjoy the quiet. The silence came with a price though, which was the stack of work that she had to get through. She was attempting to balance a giant stack of papers on her way back from her boss' desk when someone slammed into her. A few colorful words fell from her lips as she dropped the hundreds of papers that needed to be alphabetized. "That's going to take me ages to fix!" She exploded and then she looked up to discover the cause of an extra hour of work.

Usually, Molly was an eloquent person, but when she saw the source of her distress she couldn't speak. A disheveled looking man with curly dark hair and light blue eyes looked up in shock at her from his place on the floor. "Er- sorry I wasn't looking where I was going," he said in a quiet, deep voice.

Knowing that she needed to respond, Molly swallowed and quickly began gathering papers while her face burned, "It's fine, everyone has one of those moments."

He began helping her gather the papers, "Would you like help fixing these? I really do feel terrible, I don't think I've seen someone carry this many papers ever." He gave her a wide grin, and Molly used this opportunity to quickly check to see if he had a ring while he gathered the papers. There wasn't a band on his finger, and Molly's heart skipped a beat. Could this gorgeous man be single? There had to be something wrong with him then, it should be illegal for someone who looked like that to be single.

Thanking her lucky stars that he couldn't possibly know what she was thinking, she smiled back, "That would be lovely." The two of them carried over the stack of papers and dropped them on her desk when Molly spied what else he was carrying, "_Pride and Prejudice_?"

He quickly tried to hide the book before he bit his lip, "Yeah, a friend gave it to me."

A friend? Molly felt disappointed. Most likely a girl then. "Oh I love that book, I read it ages ago. It's one of my favorite muggle novels."

"Really? He said that it was a good book, so I decided to give it a try. I'm always looking for something good to read."

Oh bugger, _he_? Maybe he had a boyfriend. Why was she having these silly thoughts? All she knew about him was that he was reading her favorite muggle novel and was really good looking. "I'm Molly," she said with a smile.

"Oliver. Now how are these supposed to be organized?"

"Alphabetically by last name," Molly frowned as she pointed out the names at the top of the corner of each page.

"How about this, we make a pile of each letter, and then we will organize each pile?" Oliver asked.

"That's a really good idea," Molly said in surprise. If he was smart too, Molly was sure that it must be fate. "I don't think I've seen you before," she said casually.

"Just transferred from Hinkypunk Books actually. I've run into you on my first day here. I guess I haven't made a good impression so far."

"Oh you've made a fine impression." She did just say that? Quickly she changed the subject, "Did you go to Hogwarts?"

"Graduated six years ago, but it feels like just yesterday," he smiled wistfully, "I was in Ravenclaw."

He was smart then. Molly wanted to cry, _why was he perfect_? "I was in Gryffindor with the rest of my family."

"Gryffindor?" His bright eyes took in her red hair pulled up into her signature bun, "You aren't Molly Weasley are you?"

Blasted family fame. "I am."

"Cool," he said and dropped the subject. The two of them chatted about what he thought of work so far, ("Not too bad so far, I'll stick around.") their shared love of reading, ("Muggle novels are pretty good, their concept of magic is laughable though.") and their families. ("I only have an older sister left, my parents died four years ago.") The two of them organized the papers quickly, and afterwards he seemed to linger by her desk while they still talked. "Merlin!" He cried when he caught a glimpse of his watch, "I have work to do too. I'll see you later Molly." After he rounded the corner to return to his own desk, Molly slammed her head against her desk in frustration. Stupid attractive man would crash into her life right when she had settled for being single.

She would ignore her feelings. Just because he looked very fit didn't mean that she had to fall for him. Molly settled back into her desk, yes she would use her Weasley stubbornness to forget all about the attractive, smart, too bloody perfect Oliver.

* * *

Part Three- Take it Slow

**Teddy, this is the same thing we told to Scorp!**

The same theory applies. Molls won't want to rush into anything. She will probably make good and sure that she likes the bloke before she makes the jump.

_Knowing Molly she will make the first move anyways. Just make sure you are friends before you ask her out and you should be good._

* * *

Molly was having trouble forgetting about Oliver. She worked for a large company, and yet she still kept running into him. Sometimes literally running into him. He was clumsy she discovered. "Accident prone," he'd quipped when she pointed it out while she was cleaning off the coffee that he spilled on her. "Sorry about that again," he'd said as he looked away while she siphoned the brown liquid off her blouse with her wand.

"Don't worry," she said distractedly, but always the gentleman, Oliver did worry. As a way to make up for his mistake, he began bringing coffee to her desk every morning. Despite her determination not to fall for him, Molly loved that he spent each morning with her chatting over coffee. Enjoyed talking to him in a perfectly platonic way that is. She wasn't watching his full lips when he talked, or admiring the way that his shirt fit his body. Most definitely she wasn't enjoying the view when he bent over to pick something up.

One day after he left, Hannah leaned over towards Molly, "You're a lucky girl."

She flushed, "There's nothing going on Hannah!"

"Naturally, and I'm a flobberworm."

At that moment, Teddy came strolling up to Molly's desk, "Miss me?"

"Hey," she said, "no I didn't."

"You wound me," he said pretending to look hurt. "I heard that you are getting along swimmingly with a certain man named Oliver."

"Everyone assumes that there's something going on between us!" Molly grumbled.

"Do you want there to be?"

"That's none of your business."

He grinned, "Molly, it's so sweet that you have a crush."

"Teddy-"

"No really," he grew serious, "Don't give up Molls."

Teddy's words rang in her ears as she left work late that night. Don't give up? She wasn't even hoping! But then why did her heart jump when she heard Oliver calling her name? "Molly!" He came jogging up from behind her, "Leaving work late?"

"Yeah, I couldn't put this one novel down," she said with a smirk.

"I know that feeling," he gave a deep laugh, and Molly found herself glancing up to watch his eyes dance with mirth. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

Typically, Molly would apparate home, but she found herself grinning like a fool and agreeing. Oliver fell into step with her as with his long legs he could easily walk much faster. "What are you up to tonight?" Molly asked. She was not trying to figure out if he had a significant other, course not.

"Probably curling up with a book and Rex."

"Rex?" She couldn't help but have a tinge of jealousy in her voice.

"My dog," he said with a smile, "Jealous Molls?"

"Only because he gets to enjoy your impeccable taste in books," Molly hoped he didn't see her blush at his use of her nickname.

"What are you doing tonight?"

"I dunno," she said as she considered, "Probably the same thing, but alone."

"No one to keep you company?"

Stupid racing heart. "Nope, I don't have a dog to cuddle with."

"How about a cat?"

"Oh Merlin no, Lucy says that I just need to cave and get a cat and become an old cat lady already, but I refuse to-" Suddenly Molly realized what she was saying and turned bright red. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"So I take it that there's no one waiting for you at home then," he laughed.

"Uh, yeah. I guess not." Molly was ready to apparate back to her flat, anything to get her out of this situation. Her luck wasn't going to hold out apparently, as suddenly she felt a raindrop hit her head. "Blast it." She muttered as the skies opened and began to drench them.

Oliver quickly shrugged out of his light jacket and held it up over her head, "Lead the way!" She lead the two of them the quickest way to her flat, and all too soon they were out of the rain and standing at her door drenched, grinning at each other like fools.

"Thanks for walking me home," Molly said as she forgot her usual shyness. "Would you like to come in and dry off before you head back?"

His face suddenly clouded over, his brilliant smile vanishing in the blink of an eye. "No, I've got to go." He turned and left Molly standing at her door bewildered. She had known there must be something wrong with that infuriatingly perfect man.

The next day, he didn't show up at her desk with coffee, or the day after that. The third day, Molly began to search for him. She looked for him everywhere- she even made Teddy who was still hanging around search the men's loo- until she finally gave up and went and asked her boss.

"Oliver Ward? He's been transferred to the branch in Edinburgh. Why do you ask?" Her portly walrus looking boss asked.

"He was just a friend of mine," she said before leaving his office. She barely made it back to her desk before a tear dripped onto the paper that she was supposed to be editing. They were just friends and she barely knew anything about him, so why was her heart breaking?

* * *

Part Four- Be Honest

Molly has the legendary Weasley temper, if there is something you are hiding, she will find it out.

_She's wicked smart too, if you don't want to tell her something, just leave._

**I triple dog dare you, try to keep a secret from her. It will be funny to see what hex she would use on you.**

_I don' t think that any hex could top that one that she used on you when you destroyed all of her books._

**That was an accident! It really wasn't necessary to make me belch slugs.**

* * *

It took two weeks for Molly to move from upset to frustrated with Oliver. There had to be a reason for him to have suddenly moved. Her boss said that he had requested the transfer, so it must have been something bad. Was it her fault? Molly was about to go search for him as Victorie pressured her to, but decided to try one last thing.

Molly stood in the middle of _Daily Prophet_ headquarters thanking her lucky stars that her occupation and name were enough to allow her to access their private archives, no questions asked. "Just wave your wand and request what you are searching for," a wispy elderly witch told her. "The papers will come to you."

She left and Molly took a deep breath before she started on her task. Fearful of what she would find, she raised her wand, "Oliver Ward." There was a rustle, and five papers flew into her hands. The first was a birth announcement printed in the back, the second his name was listed among Hogwarts graduates, but the third was what made Molly gasp. She held the paper from nearly four years ago proclaiming that ten people died when Voldemort supporters attacked a village on the anniversary of his defeat. Carefully she scanned the paper, and her breath caught when she came across the names of the dead and injured. Oliver was listed as injured, and next to his name were three others, parents Greg Ward, Katie Ward, and fianceé Cecilia Everett, deceased.

The next paper was a follow up about the attack, and the last one held the obituaries for each of Oliver's family members. Cecilia was pretty, Molly thought numbly as she tried to read the words that had been written about her. Merlin, she had no idea. He probably felt a thousand times more heartbroken than she did. Molly banished the papers, and decided to do the mature thing, she let go of Oliver.

* * *

Part Five- She's ALWAYS Right

Molly is always right. She will prove you wrong every time. Even when you think that you are right, you are most certainly not.

**Dom told me once that Molly said to Victorie that she and Teddy would end up married. Apparently she is the one who shoved the two of them into a broom closet until they kissed for the first time. She's a bit crazy when it comes to being right.**

_If she says you are being a git, then you better believe that you are being a git. The problem is that if she doesn't want to talk about something, then she will use her "I'm right and you're wrong" attitude to prove that she is perfectly fine._

* * *

Molly and her new tabby cat, Ollie, were enjoying a book one August evening a couple weeks later when there was a knock at the door to her flat. She opened the door where a green haired Teddy greeted her with a cry of, "Molls!" She hugged her almost cousin, and then saw the group gathered behind him.

"Hi everyone?" Molly said as she gaped at the group of people standing on her doorstep. At the front was Teddy, Victorie holding his hand. Then James grinning broadly over Teddy's shoulder, who was next to Albus who was holding hands with a pretty girl with soft brown hair. At the back was Rose who was standing next to a pale boy who had his arm slung over her shoulder, Scorpius Malfoy.

She stared at the group that had gathered before James finally piped up, "Can we come in already?" Molly ushered them inside and her tiny flat felt even smaller with seven extra people in it.

"What are you doing here?" She finally managed to say.

"Can't we come visit you?" Victorie said with a grin at the same time as Albus' girlfriend announced, "We are all taking a vacation!"

Albus groaned, "Lydia, we were going to ease her into the idea."

"Where are we going?" Molly asked, "Actually, where are you going? I can't go off on holiday with you, I have work."

"Molls don't you think that I've taken care of that? I got you time off already," Teddy grinned.

"Vic," she pleaded to the one person in the room who could possibly take pity in her, "don't make me go! I've got Ollie to take care of and-"

"That's the other thing!" James exclaimed, "You named your cat after the man that you've been pining after! You need to come with us so we can help you move on!"

"Ollie was already named when I bought him!"

"That's why you chose him, that name!" James insisted.

"Scorpius and I are actually here to take care of Ollie," Rose cut in to end James and Molly's bickering.

"I couldn't even spend a week traveling with that lot, I'd go barmy," Scorpius added unhelpfully.

"Where are we going?" Molly said in defeat. Victorie returned to the main room, Molly hadn't even noticed that she had left to gather some of her things.

"Edinburgh," Teddy said bluntly.

"What? No!" Molly paled, but all she could focus on was the sudden idea of seeing Oliver again. Victorie took James' hand, and before she could react, grabbed her own and forced the three of them to twist into the darkness as they disapperated.

Teddy followed after with Albus and Lydia a second later, leaving Rose and Scorpius behind. "They're all so focused on getting Molly with this Oliver guy," Rose said with a shake of her head.

"This might actually be worse than when they were trying to get us together," Scorpius added with a grin.

Rose wrapped her arms around his neck, "I like this better though because we are together already."

"Mhm," Scorpius mumbled in ascent as he pressed his lips to hers.

There was a pop, and Teddy suddenly reappeared in the room. He snatched up his bag that he had forgotten and glanced at the two teenagers who hadn't even glanced up at him, "Just behave alright?" He said before he vanished with another pop.

Rose pulled away, "Did you hear something?"

"I hear too much talking," he replied with a wink.

Molly was sulking in her room that she was sharing with the girls. Teddy insisted that they shouldn't visit the Phoenix Publications building where Oliver was working straight away, but should all enjoy their time on vacation. "I've blocked three weeks for you," Teddy told her with a grin when all six of them were in the room the boys were to share.

"Three weeks?" Molly spluttered, "I don't have that much vacation time saved up!"

"You had enough for three months Molls," Victorie said as she lounged against Teddy's chest.

"Don't you ever have fun?" James asked from his upside down position on the bed, "Even Albie has loosened up some in the past year."

"I take credit for that," Lydia said while she played with Albus' hair. Soon after that comment, Lydia and Albus excused themselves from the room. James followed after them a minute later, most likely to torment them. Teddy and Victorie were being polite enough to Molly, but she got the vibe that the couple wanted to be alone, so she returned to the other room for a good natured what-did-I-get-myself-into sulk.

The sun was shining though, and the group had passed a cute little coffee shop on their way to where they would be staying, so Molly eventually made herself look mostly decent and began to backtrack to the shop. Less than twenty minutes later she had herself a delicious cup of coffee while she read the latest novel that she had picked up. Victorie knew well enough to have packed it for her. Halfway through a chapter, she felt as though she was being watched. Her eyes left the page and landed on a man holding a book staring at her in complete shock a couple tables away.

Oliver.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. He was just as gorgeous as she remembered, if not even more so. He didn't seem to make any sort of movement to come talk to her, so Molly threw money on the table for her coffee, knowing that she overpaid and stalked away from him. She refused to cry any tears from feeling rejected once again. Never again would she cry over Oliver Ward.

It only took a moment for a dark haired boy to fall in step with her, not the man she had hoped would come chasing after her, but James. "I thought you might like some company."

"I guess," she shrugged. "I'd mostly like to get back to bed."

"How about a joke then to pass the time?" She shrugged again. "Al's face!" James erupted into laughter, and Molly couldn't help but crack a smile at her immature cousin. "But really, you alright?" He asked calmly.

Molly looked over to make sure that it really was James walking next to her, "Teddy is that you?"

"Molls maybe you are the crazy one here, I'm James!"

"But you are never serious."

"I'm always Sirius. That's my middle name."

"Moment over," Molly muttered.

"You should just forget that git," James continued on, "Teddy thinks that the two of you are destined or something ridiculous like that, but I think he's not worth it."

"I agree," Albus walked up from behind them hand in hand with Lydia, "For once James you're making sense."

"I tend to do that every so often."

* * *

Oliver Ward was completely miserable. He had tried to go back to his flat and forget the look on Molly's face when she saw him, but the image was etched into his mind, along with the fact that he was a complete git. Unable to sit still, he had left to take a walk while he watched the sunset. It didn't take long for him to stop at a bench and drop his head into his hands. He had lost nearly everyone he had cared about and had vowed to never get close to another person again. Heartbreak wasn't something that he could handle very well. Yes, it was best to stay away. Oliver felt someone plop down next to him on the bench, "Hullo git." He looked up and found a boy with dark hair sitting next to him. Standing and watching him were two others, a man with green hair and a boy who looked like he could be related to the one who addressed him.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Oliver was feeling like a git, but he didn't exactly like others calling him a git.

"Molly's cousins," Said the younger dark haired boy. "I'm Albus. That's Teddy, and James." Albus pointed out each.

Family. Oh bugger. "Hello."

"Do you like Molly?" Teddy asked. Straightforward, Oliver liked him already.

"It's complicated," He said lamely, James opened his mouth to probably insult him again. "Wait, listen please, I'm going to explain." Oliver bit his lip, "I don't know if I'm ready to be in a relationship. If I was looking, then I would probably take her out."

"Well, why did you just up and leave without saying anything to her? You really hurt her," Albus pointed out.

"Don't you dare say you have commitment issues," James said poking Oliver in the shoulder, "I only accept that excuse if your last girlfriend died." There was a moment of silence as Oliver stared at James, whose eyes slowly widened. "Oh." He said weakly after a moment.

"We didn't know," Albus whispered as he looked away, "Come on James." The two boys left, but Teddy stayed as he contemplated the miserable looking man in front of him.

"I don't want to be rude," Oliver said, "But I've had a terrible day and would like to be alone."

"That's where I think that you're wrong," Teddy said, "You don't want to be alone, you're just afraid to not be alone."

"Well, what am I supposed to do about that?" Oliver snapped, "Please, I can't get her out of my head, but I'm bloody well trying."

"Molly and I practically grew up together, and I hadn't seen her as happy as she was when she was around you. From what I saw, you looked happy too."

"I've never seen you before, how could you say that you've seen us?"

Teddy's hair turned teal, "I have my ways." He placed a book into Oliver's hands and left. Oliver watched him vanish into the dusk before he looked at the book in his hands, _How to Win Molly Weasley for the Idiot that Doesn't Deserve Her- Oliver Ward_.

As he read, scrawled into the margin after part five was The Kingfisher Room 732. He closed his eyes and retreated into his confused thoughts.

* * *

Molly didn't run into Oliver for the rest of vacation. The group apparated back to her flat, where she found Rose curled up with Scorpius on the couch while Ollie eyed them disdainfully. "Why is my cat glaring at you?" Molly said with a sigh.

"We probably didn't give him as much attention as he's used to," Scorpius said with a wide grin. Rose smacked him upside his head to make his satisfied smirk disappear.

"Did you find him?" Rose asked as she quickly searched for an unfamiliar face in the crowd of people.

Molly frowned, "No, but it's fine." She dragged her bag into her room.

"It's not fine," Teddy whispered when Molly was out of earshot, "But obviously if he's going to be a git, then he doesn't deserve her." The cousins said good bye quickly, and much too soon Molly found herself alone.

"I have you though," she said with false brightness to Ollie. He stalked away from her. "Fine just leave me like everyone else!" Molly yelled at the cat. There was a rap at the door, and Molly stomped over to the door, "What did you forget- Ah." She stared at Oliver who was standing awkwardly on her doorstep.

"Hello Molly."

* * *

Part Six- Be Traditional

Molls likes things done the traditional way. Now when it comes to asking her out, be traditional. Take her for dinner and be a gentleman like we said at the beginning.

**But traditional is BORING.**

_You're boring._

**Your face is boring!**

OH MY MERLIN, GO AWAY. I'm not letting you guys pick who we should set Molly up with now. Okay, sorry. They're gone. Just be open, take her out on a nice date, and everything will be perfect.

* * *

Molly stared at Oliver. "This is awkward." The two of them had walked to a coffee shop near by her flat at his insistence that coffee was their thing.

"Sorry about that," Oliver said softly. "I'm here to explain."

"You better have a bloody good explanation, because I'm all ready to forget about you being a stupid git."

He winced, "I have been a git, and I'm sorry."

"I know about Cecilia now," Molly plowed on, "and I figured that I should move on. Obviously I'm not her, I'm just plain old Molly Weasley. You've lived, loved and been heartbroken. All I've ever been is lonely. It took me awhile to see that I've been selfish. I had some silly idea that we could be more than friends and moped around after you left, but you're dealing with things that are much more complex than I can ever imagine. We just had so much in common, and then you left without a word, but I get it. Doesn't mean I'm not upset with you, but I can understand that you're probably still mourning and don't really care for me-"

"Molly," he cut her off, "will you please stop babbling and let me explain? After I'm finished you can feel free to hex me or whatever you feel like, but just let me speak.

"I was in love with Cecilia. We grew up together. She knew all my secrets, and I knew hers. Our sixth year at Hogwarts we began going out and everything seemed perfect, but then there was the attack. I swore that I would never get close to another person again. I haven't even spoken to my sister since the funeral because being close to her reminded me of them, and I feared that one day I'd lose her too.

"I thought that moving here to London would help me move on. Start a new life at a new company, just begin again. Baby steps though. I got Rex as my first foray into connecting with something in years. Then I literally ran into you. Curse my accident proneness. You have this life in you Molly, something I'd forgotten about. Being with you made me feel I wouldn't say normal. I'll go with better. Up until the night that I walked you back to your flat in the rain, I was content with being friends, but then, Merlin!" He bit his lip and ran his fingers through his curly hair as he fell silent.

"You bite your lip when you're nervous," Molly said stupidly as an attempt to break the tension.

He laughed, "I know. Molly," he gave a deep sigh, "I'm fairly screwed up when it comes to being in relationships."

"Which means?"

"I don't know what I'm doing," he said weakly.

"Well, how about you continue your story until you figure out what you're going to do to make up for being a git."

His lips quirked up at the corners, "I'll try to make up for that. But Molls, that night was the first night in years that I didn't think about Cecilia. All I could think about was you, and that frightened me. So I ran. I thought that leaving you and going back to being alone would be best, but you wouldn't get out of my mind. That's why I panicked when I saw you in Edinburgh. It's all together a lame excuse, but I'm sorry."

Molly stared at him, "It's okay." She stood up and threw money down on the table for the coffee, "Thank you for explaining."

She had only taken a few steps away when he stumbled up next to her, "Where are you going?"

"You said that being alone would be best, I'm honoring your request."

"Molly, I can't get you out of my mind!"

"So?"

"May I take you to dinner tomorrow night?" He bit his lip.

Molly stared at him in shock. She didn't know what to say so she settled for, "I don't know."

"If that's a yes, then I'll come at seven." He gave her a small smile and then turned back to their table to get the tab.

Molly stared at herself in the mirror the following night. She was wearing a simple strapless black dress with her hair pinned away from her face as usual. Why was she all dressed up with only five minutes until seven? She shouldn't go on a date with Oliver. He wanted to be alone and she decided she was fine being alone too. Besides, he'd been a complete git. Then why couldn't she breathe when there was a knock at her door? More importantly, why was she running to answer it?

* * *

Part Seven- Less is More

Molly is simple, she doesn't like extravagance. That goes for everything, less is always more for her.

**She even gets annoyed if you over talk.**

_Which is why you aren't exactly her favorite cousin James._

**She also hates if you are overly a pansy Albie.**

Well, I'm overly colorful and she likes me just fine.

* * *

"I saw that you got a cat," Oliver said with a smirk after the two of them ordered. He had taken her to a small Italian restaurant a few blocks from her flat. She had always wanted to try it, but now she was enjoying it with Oliver who looked incredible in his dark blue shirt that complemented his eyes.

"Yeah, I figured that being alone forever means I really should get a cat."

"Still sticking to being alone then?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Maybe Ward. Haven't you heard of a pity date?" She took a sip of the wine that the server had brought along with some freshly baked bread.

"A pity date?" He frowned.

"It's when a girl agrees to go on a date with someone because she feels bad for him." Oliver seemed concerned, but the food arrived saving them from that awkward conversation. Things seemed to slowly be returning to the way that they were before Oliver had left. His eyes danced in the dim light, and he grew more animated as she questioned him about his life in Edinburgh.

"I walk into work and immediately I get handed this stack of papers to go through on my first day. I couldn't help but think of you and knocking over all those papers on my first day here. I mean, that was a lot of papers that we had to reorganize, but the stack that I got was huge!" He waved an arm, and watched in horror as he knocked over the wine bottle spilling its contents all over Molly.

Calmly she picked up the bottle and reassured Oliver that everything was fine. He quickly paid for the meal, "Really Oliver, you don't need to worry." Molly said as he began to head back towards her flat.

"I'm really sorry," He said for the umpteenth time, "I'm sure that you'll want to get out of that dress now."

They kept a brisk pace, and soon Molly was staring at Oliver as they were standing on her doorstep. Both of them thought back to that moment months ago where both parties left heartbroken. "I keep messing things up," he muttered.

"I don't think so," Molly said lightly.

"How come?"

"I had a perfectly lovely time until you panicked about spilling wine all over me."

"Which-"

"If you say I'm sorry again, I will not hesitate to hex you."

He smiled, "Then I'm not sorry."

"Oh," Molly said, "this wasn't a pity date by the way."

"Does that mean you would like a second date?" Molly responded by leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, but he tilted his head at the last moment and their lips gently brushed. It only lasted for a second, he leaned away and smiled at her. "I'll see you soon Molly."

"See you soon Oliver." The two left, and Molly fell into her bed as soon as she entered her flat trying to sort out what it all meant. Where exactly did the two of them stand? They had kissed, but did it even mean anything? Most importantly, when would she see him all again to work out what exactly they were? She was sure that she felt something for him, but rushing into a relationship with the two of them so confused wasn't a good idea. Just let life happen, she thought wryly, he's got to make the next move.

The next morning she went into work for the first time since being back from vacation. She first saw Hannah who practically beamed at her, and then her eyes landed on the tall, handsome figure sitting on her desk holding out a coffee with a smile.

* * *

**A/N: I have no idea where this came from. Molly's story started out the same, walking in on Teddy, but then all of a sudden the original plot vanished and this wrote itself. It's much more serious than I had planned, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Stupid Molly and her plot that wouldn't go away. Eh, I suppose this has it's moments of cuteness, but it won't let me rewrite it no matter how hard I try. (At one point I scrapped the entire thing and rewrote it so she would end up with Robert only to figure that even though it was more amusing, it sucked. A lot.) I don't know, this chapter the more I read it, the more it just fits.**

**Thank you to Stromsten, Quinn07H and AjGirl15 for your reviews!  
Stromsten: Thank you! I really wanted to make sure that Rose got a super cute story. At your request, I wrote Molly's story next. I hope that Molly's story was at least semi cute.  
Quinn07H: Thanks! I hope you loved this one too.  
AjGirl15: Roxanne's story is next, I promise. James is a total idiot, but for some odd reason I like writing him that way. I'll add more Albus and Lydia in the next chapters, but I managed to slip them in just for a moment in this chapter.**

**I hope that you enjoyed! Up next is Roxanne.**

**Please go vote in my poll for which Weasley you would like after Roxanne! Thank you all, and as usual, reviews are loved.**


	4. How to Win Roxanne Weasley

**Disclaimer: Same thing as usual.**

* * *

Chapter 3: How to Win Roxanne Weasley

Growing up in a family full of pranksters, Roxanne Weasley had quickly learned to be quick and resourceful when it came to getting what she wanted. By the time that she entered Hogwarts, she had perfected her ability to trick her way into anything. That also included the miracle of somehow sweet talking the Sorting Hat into putting her into Gryffindor even though it said that she would make a nearly perfect Slytherin.

It didn't take long for Roxanne's talent to be applied towards the Hogwarts boys. The eleven year old Gryffindors were up in their dorm room discussing boys one week into term before Roxanne made the challenge that would define the next few years of her life, "I will kiss any boy that I want to," she boldly announced to the other girls.

Her new best friend, Mariah Vera, nearly fell off her bed laughing, "Roxie, you can't just say that you are going to kiss any boy you want! They have to kinda be willing to kiss you back."

"That's a stupid thing to say," Mary Sawer sniffed.

"It's not stupid if I can back it up," Roxanne pointed out.

"How are you going to prove it?" The last girl in the room, Theresa Johnson, asked.

"Like this!" Roxanne jumped off her bed and thundered down the stairs to the common room. There weren't that many people in the common room, but there was a cute second year boy reading by the fire. "Hi Justin!" Roxanne said brightly as she settled next to him on the couch.

Justin stared at her in shock, he had no idea how Roxanne knew his name as they hadn't spoken before, "Uh, hi Roxie?" His hello sounded more like a question.

"There's something I want to tell you," she paused and leaned closer to him.

Justin hadn't been this close to a girl ever, and he was a bit flustered when he asked, "What?"

"I think you are really cute," Roxanne pretended to be embarrassed and look away, but Justin was already enchanted by the cute first year.

"I think you are pretty cute too," He admitted, which gave Roxanne the perfect opportunity to lean forward and press her lips against his for a moment.

She pulled away giggling, "I'll see you later Justin!" Her friends stood staring at her as she bounced up the stairs, "Told you."

Which is why five years later, when she followed Scorpius Malfoy outside after his row with Rose, Roxanne was an established flirt. Any boy that caught her fancy eventually would kiss her. Scorpius despite being much younger and the general consensus was that he was Rose's, was very attractive, and Roxanne was determined to snog him. She gave him one moment of time by himself before she followed Scorpius outside to where he sat on a bench with his head in his hands. As she approached she quietly surveyed the scene; he was emotionally distressed about his relationship with Rose. Best plan of attack would to be understanding and then compliment him before going in for the kill.

Carefully, she arranged her face into one of concern as she sat next to Scorpius and placed a hand on his back, "I don't think that you messed up back there."

He lifted his head, and Roxanne thought he looked pathetic, "Course I did. Rose can't stand me again."

"I'm not talking about Rose. You stood up for yourself and wouldn't let them pressure you into kissing someone that you didn't want to kiss and who didn't want to kiss you." Which was a total lie. Only an idiot would miss the fact that Rose wanted to snog Scorpius' face off.

He gave a small laugh, "I suppose. Imagine if I had kissed her! She'd probably hex me the second we got back to Hogwarts as punishment."

At the small smile that appeared on Scorpius' face, Roxanne moved onto part two of her plan, "You were right though, most of the Hogwarts girls would kiss you in a heartbeat."

"You would know?"

She leaned in closer, "I am very familiar with the effect you have on girls Scorpius." He swallowed and his eyes widened just a little bit. Finally, part three, move in for a kiss, and if she was lucky it would be more of a snog. Careful to not move quickly as to startle him, Roxanne leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his. He seemed rooted to the spot and Roxanne felt a bit annoyed. Rumor pegged him as an excellent snogger, and if she was going to sit out in the cold she wanted to have him kiss her back. She moved her lips just a little bit and felt a thrill when he finally responded. With her seasoned experience, she tangled her fingers in his soft hair and parted her lips as she gave a small sigh that was guaranteed to drive any man wild. Even though he was so in love with Rose that he didn't even know it yet, he deepened the kiss and that was when James ruined everything.

"You. Do. Not. Snog. A. Cousin. Other. Than. Rose!" James punctuated each word with a smack against Scorpius' back.

Roxanne cursed her luck that she was just barely not old enough to hex her cousin as Scorpius pulled back, "I can snog anyone I want."

"Don't you forget, I'm still here," Roxanne added as she cooly regarded her cousins. "I can choose to snog Scorpius if he is willing, and he is more than willing." She pulled his lips back to her own, thrilled when he still kissed her back.

"Ugh, Roxie this is so wrong. You two don't work at all, and you are a sixth year! Why do you want to go around snogging a fourth year?" Teddy said and Roxanne rolled her eyes.

"Because he's a bloody good at it, now shove off," she snapped and this time, Scorpius pulled her back in for another kiss. She heard the boys stomping away as they left.

It was only a moment longer before he pulled away from her, "What am I doing?"

"Snogging me," Roxanne said with what she hoped was an alluring smirk.

"No," he stood up and took a few steps away, "I've messed everything up haven't I? Roxie, I don't like you. Merlin, were you taking advantage of me?"

She stood up and smoothed down her rumpled clothes and hair, feeling annoyed. "You kissed me back! Don't deny that you didn't like it."

"I started thinking that you were Rose!" He ran his fingers through his hair, "I thought you were Rose," he repeated, looking shocked at the words.

"Go get her then," Roxanne snapped before stomping away to find somewhere away from everyone else. Very few boys had rejected her. Usually she was the one who would push the boy away when she got bored or they tried to push her too far. Of course Scorpius Malfoy would be the one who would push her away first. It was her own fault though, she was well aware of Scorpius' feelings for Rose even if he wasn't. She smirked as she settled down on a stump, but at least she could gloat to her friends that she snogged Malfoy. It was nearly an hour before James found her. James was closer to her brother as they were the same age, but the two of them had the same outlook on relationships. It really was a matter of time before he found her to talk.

"Budge over," he said, poking Roxanne's arm.

"Get your own stump," she snapped back as she made sure that she sprawled out far enough to cover the entire thing.

He rolled his eyes before plopping down in the snow, "Scorp, Roxie? You had to snog Scorp?"

"Really James? Out of everybody I thought you would actually understand. Attractive, unattached guy and attractive unattached girl lead to snogging sessions. We agree on this remember?"

"I didn't think you would go for Scorpius Malfoy," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust, "It's like claiming someone else's property. He and Rose already fight like an old married couple that they might as well be well, married."

"I wouldn't be talking about snogging people in relationships James, weren't you caught in a broom closet with Sadie Cook the other day?"

"I thought she was single! How was I supposed to know she was still with Smith when she came onto me like that?" He shuddered, "I feel tainted."

"Tainted? Haven't you snogged and shagged most of Hogwarts, and that makes you feel tainted?"

"Exactly!"

She rolled her eyes, "Why girls fall all over you I will never understand."

"Because I'm bloody good at it," he said with a cheeky wink. "But I'm here to help you out!"

"I don't want your help-"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't."

"Yes you do!"

"No James."

"Roxie!" He whined, pouting. "I'm going to find you a man to settle down with once and for all!"

She took one look at her cousin's eager face before bursting into laugher. "Me? Settle down?"

"Roxie, how many boys have you snogged?"

She paused, staring up at the snow covered branches as she thought before saying, "I think it's over thirty."

"You only have a year and a half left at Hogwarts, what are you going to do then? Flirt with all the men at work? They are going to want more than just a quick snog Rox, probably at least a quick shag, and I am going to help you out!"

Warily, she leaned away from James who now was standing over her with his hands on her shoulders. He really could be overenthusiastic at times. "What are you going to do?"

"Write you a guide on how to impress you!" He said dramatically.

Roxanne blinked, "Right. Good luck with that."

* * *

HOW TO WIN ROXANNE WEASLEY

Part One- Be Tough

**I'm in charge of Roxie as none of you idiots understand her like I do, got it?**

_I won't argue, she isn't too fond of me._

I thought that it was you who wasn't too fond of her?

_Either way she's like a female James and I can only handle one of them._

**She likes me the best, so I'm the boss man here.**

Oh Merlin...

**Shut it Teddy. Anyways, Roxie will eat you alive if you aren't tough. How do you think that she manages to get any guy that she wants to fall all over her? She pressures all those spineless gits that she snogs.**

_Roxie is tough, but not all the boys she snogs are weak James. Didn't she snog Reynolds?_

Reynolds? That giant boy in Lucy's year?

**Yeah, she made him cry.**

* * *

Roxanne tapped her trunk with her wand and it settled down at the foot of her bed. Holiday was over, and now she could avoid James and his comments that he already had a perfect boy for her. "ROXIE!" Mariah came bounding into the room to give her a hug.

"Mariah!" Roxanne called back as she hugged her, "How was your holiday?"

Mariah blushed, "We have to wait for the other two remember? We all promised." Mary and Theresa came banging into the room.

"Resa, you are a bloody witch, you should have charmed your trunk!" Mary rolled her eyes as a panting Theresa pushed her trunk against her bed before collapsing on top of it.

"Forgot-" She gasped, "Being with muggles for two weeks makes me forget I can."

"Now that we are all here, can we please get on with what happened?" Roxanne asked impatiently. The four girls took seats on their trunks, "Resa's first this time." It was tradition to have all the girls gather together to tell about the most memorable moment of their holiday.

Theresa took a deep breath, "The beginning of my break was dead boring since I had to be surrounded by all of my dull muggle family and couldn't talk about magic at all. New Years though was the best, Rachel finally brought home that boy she's been prattling on about, Marcus, and they are engaged! So you know what that means," Theresa gave a wicked smile, "I had to tell him I'm a witch since he's going to be my brother-in-law. He didn't believe me at first, but he fainted when I showed him a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. For the rest of the night all he could talk about was miniature moving pictures."

"My turn," Mary said after everyone finished laughing, "I hexed that git next door finally." Mary had turned seventeen just before the holiday, and had been looking forward to hexing the man next door who had been flirting with her for years.

"What did you do?" Mariah asked as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Babbling jynx. He kept prattling on about how he knew I would never even look at him even though he thought that I was pretty and smart." Mary wrinkled her nose. "I told him to sod off again after that."

"You should just give him a chance," Roxanne said with a smirk, "He's what, twenty five? That's not that big of a difference, and who else will ever fall that hard for you?"

Mary chucked a pillow at her, "One of your rejects probably. You're up next Rox, who'd you snog this time?"

She gave a wide grin, "Scorpius Malfoy."

The three girls stared at her in shock. "No bloody way," Mary gasped, "You snogged Malfoy?"

"Yup, sure did."

"Details woman!" Mariah cried, "You can't snog and not tell!"

"It was great until he told me that he started thinking about Rose while he was snogging me," Roxanne said, wrinkling her nose, "Who thinks of another girl while they are snogging me?"

"Well was it a full on snog or just a kiss?" Theresa asked.

"Snog."

"Then he likes her more than I thought, but Roxie, you snogged Malfoy!" Theresa sighed, "He's one of the most gorgeous boys here. Pity he's hung up on Rose."

"Yeah," Roxanne shrugged, "I'll go find someone else. Mariah your turn."

Mariah turned a bright shade of red, "Nothing interesting happened."

"Liar!" Mary cried.

"Best friends always tell each other the truth!" Roxanne prodded while Theresa nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Mariah buried her head in her pillow, "I wasn't going to tell you guys."

"You're breaking the best friends code," Theresa said sadly.

"Forget the code, you're breaking my heart," Roxanne added dramatically.

"Fine. Sam slept over at my house over break."

"Well, that's nothing unless- Oh. _Oh_!" Roxanne watched her best friend turn bright red. "You guys shagged didn't you?"

"My parents were gone at a party," Mariah explained, "Now I'm more experienced than you Rox."

"Shut it," Roxanne growled. The other three laughed and Mariah left to find Sam who no doubt would be waiting for her in the common room. After a moment, Roxanne jumped off her trunk, "I need a good snog."

"Have fun with that!" Mary called after her. Roxanne glanced at Mariah who was sitting with Sam in front of the fire on her way out of the common room. They looked so bloody happy curled up like that, she thought bitterly. She wasn't missing out on anything. Relationships were just a heap of trouble, there was no reason to change now.

* * *

Roxanne shoved the sandy haired Hufflepuff out of the broom closet, "I asked if you wanted to snog!" She yelled, "Not to ask me out!"

"I thought that since you dragged me in here, that you might want to go to Hogsmead with me," the sandy haired wide eyed boy asked eagerly.

She stared at him in shock, "I have no idea who the hell you are."

"But you snogged me, we have Charms together-"

"Doesn't ring a bell," Roxanne turned away, "See you." She headed straight up to the common room where she quickly found a seat by James. "I am a terrible person aren't I?"

"What ever makes you think that dear cousin of mine?" He asked with wide innocent eyes.

"I just snogged some boy and I have no idea who he is. To make it even better, he asked me out and I acted awful. I just said I had no idea who he was and left, and you know what the worst part is?"

"That you just realized this now?"

"He wasn't even cute," she spat, ignoring James. "If I'm going to be terrible, I might as well be terrible with some _standards_."

"Roxie I do have a solution for all of your problems," James sang with a wide grin that made Roxanne fear for her life.

"I don't want your solution," she glanced up and saw Mariah and Sam still curled up together talking quietly. Her stomach turned and she found herself looking back at James, "Hypothetically if I was interested, do you have a person you would set me up with?"

Somehow James' smile grew even wider, "Course I have the perfect person."

"I haven't already snogged him have I? I think I snogged most of the attractive Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws."

"Oh I have heard many girls mention that he is very good looking, and I believe that you haven't tainted him yet."

"Who is it?" She said narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"Are you agreeing to let me help you out?"

"Just tell me!"

"Let me make your life less pathetic Roxie."

"Fine!" She finally gave up, "I'll let you set me up with some random bloke since my life has hit rock bottom."

"Great," James leaned back in his chair. "He's in Slytherin."

"Oh hell no!"

* * *

Part Two- Fight

**This is awesome, I actually get to tell someone to drive my cousin up the wall. Fight with Roxanne and she will undoubtedly fall for you.**

_Isn't this similar to be tough?_

**No, here he needs to actually directly fight with Rox.**

That's a stupid idea James. Fighting with someone will not help build a relationship.

**Ten Galleons says it works.**

Deal.

* * *

"I won't wear this!" Roxanne snarled as she chucked the green jumper that James picked out for her back at him. James was sitting on her bed with a grin that still hadn't faded from the moment that somehow he made it up the staircase into her dormitory. To be honest, she was slightly impressed he'd figured a way up the stairs, but mostly frightened.

"Roxie," James whined, "It looks fantastic on you, and this bloke likes green."

"I don't bloody care what this mystery bloke likes! Why did I even agree to this?" She began pacing in front of her open wardrobe, kicking her discarded clothes out of the way.

"Because you don't want to spend the rest of your life snogging ugly blokes, end up a pathetic cat lady like Molly and Lucy and eventually die alone." James said unhelpfully as he chucked the jumper back at her.

"I don't like you," Roxanne took the jumper and stormed into the bathroom to change.

"Glad you don't! That would be weird."

"There, happy?" She flung open the door roughly after a moment and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"You look smashing," James said with a wink, "Come on now, we have to meet him in five minutes." He practically dragged her down flights of stairs until they reached the fourth floor. "Couple things before I let you go have your first real relationship." She gave him a dirty look. "Don't give me that look Roxie. Firstly, most Slytherins need to be hexed because they are gits. He's only a sort of git, but then again you are too. Secondly, when you do hex him because I'm sure that you will, don't hex his bits off, that will be a downer for your future children. Have fun!" He wagged his eyebrows and then shoved her into a deserted corridor, slamming the door behind her.

"I hate you James Potter!" She yelled when she tried to magically unlock the door and couldn't. "Bloody interfering wanker." Slowly she made her way down, peering into each empty room. As she neared the end, it seemed that the mystery Slytherin hadn't come anyways. The door to the second to last room was mostly shut, and Roxanne pushed it open to reveal Beckett Frye perched on a desk swinging his legs aimlessly. "James set me up with you?" She gasped before replacing her surprise with irritation.

Beck and her went back further than Hogwarts. His family had often come into her dad's joke shop in Diagon Alley when they were little. Often, the two of them would play amongst the colorful shelves together, but that changed when he was sorted into Slytherin to the surprise of his family. She hadn't spoken to him in years, but he was known for having a bit of a temper. The familiar hazel eyed boy frowned, "I didn't know Potter was sending you."

"Who did you think then?" She angrily said, trying not to fall apart. Here she was standing in the same room as her childhood friend that she hadn't spoken to since first year. He was much taller now, over six feet with light brown hair. His features would be handsome she admitted, if he wasn't currently glowering at her. Maybe his face was permanently stuck that way though since he was in Slytherin.

"Potter knows a lot of girls doesn't he?" He shot back. "I wasn't told, oh hey I'm sending my slag of a cousin to you."

"What did you call me?" She asked with her voice dangerously low and wand clasped tightly in her hand.

"Just calling what I see. You know Weasley, if I hadn't been sorted into Slytherin you would have snogged me sooner wouldn't you? Everyone knows your reputation, but you've avoided snakes up until this point." He slid off the table and slowly sauntered up to her, "Out of boys? Potter said that you were looking for a genuine relationship, but doesn't that mean that you snog a bloke more than once?"

There was a bang, and Beck suddenly flew backwards into the wall, slamming his head against it roughly. Roxanne stared at his motionless body in shock, her wand still shaking in her hand. She quickly turned and hurried down to the door James had previously locked. The door was now open and she burst through into Albus and James who were waiting for her to come out. "I'd go get him," she choked out before she sprinted away. Figures out of all the boys at Hogwarts, James would pick the one who could make her cry- nearly cry that is, she didn't cry for anyone.

* * *

Part Three- Follow Her Everywhere

Wait, if you're reading this then Roxanne hasn't killed you yet. How is that possible?

**Roxie isn't that bad.**

But wouldn't you say that she's probably hexed the poor bloke by now?

**Obviously. I said she wasn't bad, not that she doesn't have a temper that sends most pansies running. I'm staring at you Al, just to let you know.**

_Thanks._

* * *

Roxanne had wandered around the castle for a while trying to forget Beck. Of all the boys James could have picked, it had to be him. She couldn't blame James for the match though. Both of them were stubborn, impulsive, and sometimes just mean. That was six years ago though, and she knew Beck was more of a git now than he was back then.

When she returned to the common room after cooling down, James and a reluctant Albus were waiting for her. The look in her eyes must have been murderous, because James grinned while Albus paled. "I've got to go meet Lydia," Albus said as he scrambled out of his chair.

"Has he asked that girl out yet?" Roxanne asked as she took his vacated seat.

"Nope. Don't think he ever will at this point," James said cooly.

"You set me up with Fyre," she said suddenly, "How could you set me up with him?"

It was a true testament to James' madness that he didn't flinch at her tone like the rest of her cousins would, "Because you two are a couple of the most insufferable gits that I know. You'd be perfect together." He became almost gleeful, "Think about it, who would honestly be in a long term relationship with either of you two? It has to be someone who can scream back at you."

"You're wrong. I don't want your help anymore. I'll die alone if that's what it comes to."

"My work here is done," James propped his feet up on the table situated between their two chairs. "The idea is set in your mind, and now you will dream about what it would be like to rip his clothes off in a deserted classroom."

That night Roxanne didn't dream about ripping Beck's clothes off. She dreamed of times before Hogwarts where two children went to get ice cream at the newly refurbished ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley before her dream twisted into angry hazel eyes that watched her fall while she cried out for help.

The Gryffindor table was mostly empty when Roxanne went to breakfast. She hadn't slept well, especially after her disturbing last dream which featured a singing James and Beck. Waiting for her friends to wake up didn't appeal to her at the moment so she went alone. Her eyes scanned the Great Hall as they usually did to find the most attractive boys in the room before she quickly forced herself to stare at the floor. She wasn't in the mood to try to coarse some bloke into a broom closet. "You look worse than a troll's arse." Apparently she didn't look too good either.

"What do you want Fyre? I could try hexing you again since apparently I couldn't keep you out for more than a day." She turned to face him while he hovered behind her seat.

"Well that depends Weasley, do you want me to hex you here or somewhere else so we don't make a scene?" He drawled with his hands shoved in his pockets.

A first year gaping at the two of them made her decision, "Leaving."

They quickly slipped down into the dungeons to talk. At least that's what Roxanne thought. "_Furnunculus_!"

Roxanne nonverbally blocked the spell, "What are you doing?"

"Sending you to the hospital wing, just to make us even. _Langlock_!"

She once again blocked the spell, "Weak Fyre. If you're going to hex me, get some better spells. Yesterday was an accident by the way; I didn't mean to blast you into the wall."

He didn't lower his wand, "Just like you didn't mean to treat me like a prick during first year?"

"That was you who treated me like a prick! Don't turn this on me just like you made me take all the blame when we got in trouble as kids."

"It usually was your fault," he said, throwing another spell that she blocked. "I was always honest."

"Such lies coming out of your mouth. Does your mother know her son is such a slimy, pathetic Slytherin? If I was her, I'd cry myself to sleep every night over how you turned out." This time, Roxanne didn't block the spell fast enough, and was thrown into a wall. She didn't pass out however, until she saw Beck's horror stricken face as he sprinted towards her.

Roxanne had forgotten just how many cousins she had at Hogwarts. When she woke up in the hospital wing, her brother Fred was sitting in the chair closest to her bed, tipping his chair onto the back two legs. James was lazily changing Fred's hair color out of boredom. Albus was watching him with glazed over eyes while Lily sat next to him whispering to Hugo. Rose was sitting at the foot of her bed, biting her lip as she read a worn book. Dominique and Louis seemed to have fallen asleep on another bed in a very uncomfortable looking position. It took a moment to find Lucy sitting away from the rest of the group, textbooks piled around her studying for her upcoming N.E.W.T.s. "Hey," Roxanne rasped before clearing her throat loudly.

Despite everyone waiting around for her to wake up, none of them had noticed when she did. Fred dropped his chair back onto all four legs, "You alright Rox?" James stole Rose's book to chuck at Lucy to get her attention and then pushed Dominique and Louis off the bed.

"I'm fine, Freddie. What happened?" Roxanne was a bit frightening and over the top flirtatious at times, but when it came to her little brother she became a different person. Just as Fred never pranked her, she never yelled at him.

"Fyre brought you up here about two hours ago, said something about you getting hurt being all his fault." He frowned, looking ridiculous with his hair currently resembling a rainbow due to James' handiwork. "Do I need to go hex this git?"

She grinned at her lanky brother who was about as scary as a kitten, "Naw. You could prank him as much as you want though. I'd get a kick out of that."

"Has anyone notified the Professors that he attacked you?" A very annoyed Lucy joined the group, handing an equally disgruntled Rose her book back.

"No, and none of you are going to say anything." Roxanne said firmly.

"Roxie, he attacked you!" Rose gasped.

"I know, but this is between me and Fyre. I actually sent him to the hospital wing earlier, now we are even."

"You sent him to the hospital wing earlier?" Lucy's voice grew louder, "Roxanne Weasley, you do not hex people no matter how angry they make you!"

"Nice one Roxie," Louis yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"It is not a nice one!" Lucy said shrilly.

Fred quickly vacated his chair and gathered Lucy's books with a quick summoning spell, "Luce, how about I help you carry these back up to the common room and you could practice Transfiguration on me?" Lucy looked torn between reprimanding Roxanne and getting more practice in before she nodded her ascent. "See you later Rox." Fred said with a small grimace. Roxanne smiled at her brother, trying to convey how thankful she was for his sacrifice in order to get Lucy away.

"I'm going to go to bed," an exhausted Dominique said, "I had late patrols last night again, they are killing me!" Louis followed her out of the room, mumbling a get better to Roxanne.

She looked at her remaining cousins, Albus looked more nervous when she glanced at him. "Lily, Hugo I've got something for you to do!" James suddenly burst out.

Lily rolled her eyes while Hugo curiously asked, "What?"

"Go away!" James chortled.

"Let's go Hugo," Lily said with a disgusted glance at her eldest brother. "Did you really think he was going to give us something important to do?" She asked Hugo as they left the room.

"I dunno, maybe," he responded as they left the room, letting the door swing shut behind them.

"That was rude James, maybe I should go talk to Lily," Albus said quietly.

"Merlin what is your problem!" James exploded, "You are acting jumpier than Uncle Ron around spiders."

Roxanne started to snicker as Albus turned red. "Just stuff happened," he said lamely.

"What stuff? Did she turn you into a girl and that is why you are such a sissy?"

"No," Albus retorted. "She, ah-"

James looked at Roxanne's grinning face to Albus' pained expression. "I only have two guesses. She either tricked you into snogging her, which is really gross, really disturbing, and I will puke all over you if that's true. Which means my other theory is more plausible; what did you do to make him cry Roxie?"

For a second, Roxanne considered not telling James what she had done to strain her relationship with Albus, but James' expectant face crumbled her resolve. "I accidentally- Yes Al it was an accident!" She said in response to the disbelieving noise Albus made. "Kinda turned Al's toy broomstick into a snake."

James fell over as he howled with laughter, "That's why you hate snakes!"

"I was four!" Albus cried out, "I was sitting on my toy broomstick and Roxie was cross that I wouldn't give her a turn. It just started moving around and it hissed at me-"

"Then Al pissed himself and started crying," Roxanne gasped between bursts of laughter.

James was laughing so hard that he couldn't even make a sound. Albus seemed to shrink up into a ball, "It's not funny! You emotionally scarred me for life, I can't even look at you without thinking about snakes."

"It was an accident!" Roxanne said again.

"You sat there and laughed at me while I cried!" Albus countered grumpily.

"Course I did, it was hilarious."

"You know what would be more hilarious? Replicating this during a Quidditch match," James finally regained the ability to speak.

Albus' face became ashen, "James, please, _please_ no."

"What will you give me to make it so I don't?" James asked with a wicked glint in his eyes. Albus whimpered.

"Give it a rest James. Al, I promise I won't hurt you or curse any of your objects, so could you please stop running from me?"

He stared at her for a while before squeaking, "Alright."

"Now that is cleared up, what happened with Fyre?"

"He hexed me," she said simply, glancing away from her cousins to smooth nonexistent creases on the bed.

"More details! Did-"

"James give it a rest!" She snapped, "I'm tired."

The matron, Madame Frost, entered the room and discovered that Roxanne was awake. After checking to see if she was alright, Roxanne was told to stay overnight. "You two," Madame Frost rounded on the Potter brothers, "Need to get out."

"But-" James piped up.

"Now."

With a sickening smile, James quickly said, "You look absolutely stunning today Madame Frost. Did you get a haircut since the last time I saw you?"

The matron's cheeks turned pink, but Roxanne was relieved when she responded, "Potter, get out!"

Albus quickly fled the room, still uncomfortable in Roxanne's presence. James, however, lingered for a moment to give her a significant look and a saucy wink in Frost's direction before he too slipped out of the door. After drinking the potions that Madame Frost thrust upon her, Roxanne was left alone, staring at the rapidly darkening ceiling. She deserved to be locked up here instead of trying to figure out what to do by talking to her best friends. The sheets rustled as she tried to make the small bed more comfortable. Even though she knew that she had been awful to a whole lot of people, Roxanne wished she could go back to her life before Christmas. _It's Malfoy's fault_, she thought, _he got me thinking about bloody relationships after we snogged. I don't do relationships and especially not these stupid feelings._

* * *

James had to run to catch up to Albus, and when he did, Albus found himself pinned against the stone wall. "Once again, you don't have to chuck me into a wall to get me to stop."

"It's more fun this way," James said with a wave of his hand. "We need to make sure that Beck goes and talks to Roxie while she's in the hospital wing."

"Are you mad?" Albus hissed, "It's almost curfew, and I'm sure that they hate each other. Why are we trying to set those two up again?"

"They're meant to be Albie. Besides, Rose and Scorp used to hate each other."

"That's different," Albus countered, but seemed to consider the idea for a moment. "They were just being stubborn. Roxie and Beck, they don't fight to annoy, they fight to maim."

"Trust me here!"

Albus looked alarmed, "Trust you? Why would I do that?"

Before James could respond, he turned his head to look down the shadowy corridor, "Someone's coming," he breathed, before yanking his invisibility cloak from his pocket and tossing it over the two of them. Albus was very uncomfortable as James flattened them against the wall as they listened to nearly silent footsteps approaching. The figure was nearly invisible as it moved through the shadows, head down as it slunk towards the hospital wing.

James moved to follow the figure, but Albus held him back. Shifting awkwardly, Albus finally reached an old piece of parchment that had been reclaimed from James after his first year. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he whispered, almost silently. In the dim torchlight, ink spread across the page, eventually reaching the wing that they were currently in. The two boys could see their names and then Beckett Fyre moving swiftly to the hospital wing where Roxanne Weasley's name stayed motionless.

"I guess we don't need to interfere this time," James remarked, bouncing up and down in excitement as Albus wiped the map. Albus didn't need to see his brother to know that he had a frighteningly large smile spread across his face.

* * *

In the quiet darkness, Roxanne felt at peace as she hovered on the edge of sleep. _Calm, relaxing sleep_, she sighed. Her eyes grew heavier, but a creak as the door to the wing opened snapped her back to attention. As a shadowy figure edged into the room, Roxanne slowly retrieved her wand from her bedside table. When she had a clear shot, she threw a non-verbal stunner at the intruder, grinning as they made a satisfying thunk when they hit the ground. She slipped out of bed, eager to see who she had captured. "_Lumos_," she whispered to cast some light on their face. Beck's face became clear in the light, and Roxanne groaned. She was hoping that it would have been one of her cousins. Even a random Slytherin would have been better than dealing with him tonight. "_Ennervate_," she picked up his wand as he stirred.

He blinked blearily up at her, "Merlin Rox, you didn't need to knock me out."

She pointed her wand at him, "Aren't you here to do some more lasting damage?"

"I'm here to apologize if you'll let me," he snapped as he pushed himself up onto his feet, towering over her.

"Why should I accept your hypothetical apology?"

"It was an accident," Beck suddenly looked apologetic. "I didn't want to hurt you."

Roxanne was speechless. Beck was admitting he didn't want to hurt her? Some irrational small part of her wanted to immediately accept his apology. Instead she found herself saying, "It's a little too late for that." Was that a joke? She realized after she spoke. Was she joking with Beck? Before she could see his face, she turned and quickly made her way back to her bed. She sat atop the pillow, leaving room for Beck to sit down if he wanted to.

He sat after a moment, eyeing her warily, "You've been an arse to me."

"You've done the same to me."

"What happened to us Rox? We were friends before school."

"Best friends," Roxanne added, "before you told me to sod off while you pranced around with the rest of the Slytherin gits."

"You told me to sod off because I was a Slytherin!" He hissed back, "I wanted to stay friends."

"I wanted to stay friends," Roxanne snapped, "It's your fault we aren't."

"We should be," He said abruptly.

"What?"

"We should be friends," he repeated slowly as if she was a small child.

"Just because we were friends doesn't mean that we should be now," Roxanne felt that she was being mean, but she couldn't stop snapping at him.

"No, it doesn't mean we should be, it means we could be."

Light flooded the room as Madame Frost entered with a lantern, "I thought I heard voices! Mr. Fyre, I am grateful that you brought Miss Weasley here earlier, but it is past curfew. Twenty points from Slytherin, now get back to your dormitory!"

Beck slid off her bed and snatched his wand back from where she had placed it next to hers on the bed and stalked towards the door. As he left, something clicked in her mind, Beck brought her to the hospital wing. She had left him for Albus and James to take care of, but he had brought her up to the wing and judging by the amount of family that was present when she woke up, possibly had a hand in notifying them. "Beck," she called after him, he paused, half turning his head to acknowledge he heard her. It felt odd using his first name aloud for the first time in years. "I'll see you tomorrow." He continued leaving, and Roxanne hoped that he understood what she meant.

"Go to sleep!" Madame Frost announced before the room plunged back into darkness, leaving Roxanne to her jumbled thoughts.

The following morning, Roxanne was released in time for breakfast before heading off to Care of Magical Creatures. Her three friends beckoned her over and immediately began accosting her with questions. "I heard one of your spurned lovers hexed you," Mary started out with.

"I heard that Beckett Fyre carried you to the hospital wing and nearly ran some first years over on the way there," Theresa added.

"If that's true," Mariah said, "Then please enlighten me how you managed to get the Sexy Slytherin to run you to the hospital wing in a panic?"

"You think I'm sexy?" Four girls turned to find Beck approaching them. "Morning Roxie, feeling better?" He slid into the bench next to her, while the Gryffindor girls gaped.

"What are you doing here?" Roxanne asked as the nearby Gryffindors began to point out that there was a Slytherin among them.

"Don't friends sit together?" Roxanne gave a mute nod.

"You two are friends?" Mariah shrieked. Beck glanced at Roxanne before shrugging.

"Hi, I'm Mary, and if you aren't snogging Roxie here, I'd like to snog you very, very much," she said in a daze.

"I'm not snogging Roxie, but I'm going to turn you down there," he said with a small deep laugh. _A sexy laugh_, Roxanne thought before she could catch herself. She promptly tucked into her food as a way to ignore her new 'friend' sitting much too close to her.

* * *

Part Four- Snog Her

_Isn't it a little early to recommend snogging?_

I actually think I know where James is going with this, which is disturbing.

**Roxie is a physical person, she snogs boys and then dumps them. She's going to need to snog you before she even entertains the notion of a possible relationship, as that's going to be the last thing on her mind. Corner her, and you snog her. Don't wait for her to make a move. You only get one shot, so snog her brains out.**

If you do anything other than snogging her, I will kill you.

**Scary Teddy, nice.**

* * *

It had been two weeks since Roxanne and Beck had their conversation in the hospital wing, and she was getting jumpy. Never before had she been friends with a boy without the intention of snogging them. Being friends with Beck was just as easy as it was when they were children. All she had to do was stamp out the annoying overly friendly thoughts she had been having recently.

The two of them had left Transfiguration together, heading down a deserted corridor, and were having a friendly argument about what was more difficult, changing the color of hair or of eyes.

"Hair's much more difficult," Beck said, "You girls have so much, and then if you want it to look more natural that's even more ridiculous."

"But eyes just look creepy if you mess them up," Roxanne countered. "Like your eyes are such a gorgeous unique hazel with flecks of gold that probably couldn't magically be duplicated." She felt slightly horrified at the words coming out of her mouth, but she continued on, pretending that she didn't care. "Eyes convey so much emotion too, just messing with them alters everything about a person."

Beck's hand brushed against hers as they walked, falling silent. She tried to ignore the confusing thrill of excitement she felt each time that this happened. "Say something!" Beck finally burst out angrily.

"What do you want me to say?" Roxanne asked grumpily, she hadn't minded the silence between them as it gave her an opportunity to order her thoughts.

"Anything to take my mind off what I want to do," he groaned.

"What do you want to do?" Before the question was out of her mouth, Beck had her pinned up against the wall. She stared wide-eyed at him for only a moment before he pressed his lips to hers. Roxanne was accustomed to reasoning out her actions during snogging sessions, but with Beck, her mind blanked. There was just his lips against hers, fingers knotting in her hair. His tongue traced her lips, and she gave herself over to instinct. She responded eagerly, their tongues tangling. He pressed her even harder against the wall and gave a moan that sent a shiver of desire down her spine. When she was getting dizzy from lack of air, he moved his lips to her neck, running his hands down her body causing her to gasp. He pulled back, his eyes dark with desire, and suddenly the gravity of the situation came crashing down on her. Here she was, snogging Beck, the only boy she didn't want to mess things up with.

Roughly, she shoved him away, "I can't Beck." Before he could respond, she fled like a coward, sprinting so quickly up to her dorm that she must have set some record. The three other girls were already in the room when she came in. "I snogged Beck," she gasped before bursting into tears. "Why am I _crying_?" She howled as the three girls stared at her in shock.

Mariah managed to overcome her shock first. Carefully she slid off her bed and walked over to her, "About time."

Roxanne snapped her head up to stare at her best friend, "What?" Her tears were forgotten as she gave her a dark look.

"I said it's about time that you snogged him. I don't know why you are all freaked out about it, you can finally move on and stop staring at him all the time," Mariah said bluntly.

"He's not like the others though," Roxanne said, sinking onto the floor. The words rang true the moment she said them. He wasn't like the other boys, just a way to make her feel something that she was missing in her life. Even if she wanted him to, their past history was too complicated for him to just fade from memory.

"Then why did you run away like an idiot?" Mariah said bluntly.

"I don't know!" Roxanne screamed before covering her face with her hands. Mariah stood staring at her with pity before returning to her bed to continue studying.

Mary and Theresa exchanged glances, "I told you she liked him," Mary whispered just enough for Roxanne to hear.

"I don't know why I bet against you," Theresa grumbled, tossing her a Galleon. Roxanne decided to ignore her two friends and remained staring at the floor, unmoving. Was it possible that she had found someone she really cared about?

* * *

Part Five- Congratulations, You Screwed Up!

James, aren't we supposed to be helping them!

**Yeah, but we need to get them to their lowest points before they admit that they like each other.**

_That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while._

**I wouldn't be talking, as you haven't snogged Lydia yet.**

_I'm going to set Lily on you._

**Okay! You don't need to threaten me that much.**

Really James, what are you trying to accomplish here?

**Well, no doubt Fyre has snogged Roxie. Roxie didn't take it too well most likely and has now done something stupid. The two of them now will avoid each other like the plague.**

_How does this help them get together?_

**It all works out in the end!**

You are absolutely worthless aren't you?

* * *

James watched Beck pace back and forth in front of him. Most people would be intimidated by the Slytherin, but James gave him a small grin while Beck composed his thoughts. "I'm assuming there's a reason you yanked me in here."

Beck gave him a dark look, "What is wrong with you Potter?"

"Well, many people say that I was dropped on my head as a child-"

"I don't mean that!" Beck snapped. "'You screwed up'? That's your advice to me? Here's some news Potter, I don't like getting jerked around by arseholes like you."

James eyed Beck's wand that had now appeared in his hand, "If you hex me Becksies, I won't help you snog Roxie again."

"If you would like women to continue to snog you, I'd shut up," Beck growled, jabbing at him with his wand. "Now start talking, what do I do?"

"Well, you screwed up-"

"Because I followed your advice!"

"Yes," James admitted, "I intended for you to screw up so we can have this lovely conversation."

Beck's wand dropped to his side in surprise, "You _wanted_ this to happen?"

"What was I supposed to do? Stroll up to you and say we need to talk about what happened between you and Roxie nearly six years ago?"

If Beck was shocked before, he was now floored. "How the hell do you know about that?"

"Ah, I knew you two had a past," James gave a cocky grin. "I thought you seemed familiar when I was trying to figure out who would work with Roxie. Then I remembered, you used to be friends before Hogwarts. I assumed that you just fell out of being friends due to the house division, but I did some digging and discovered you were friends for a little while after your sorting. So tell, what did you do to piss off Rox?"

Beck sat down on a desk and glared at James, "If I tell you this will help fix things with her?"

"Perhaps," James shrugged.

Unable to sit still, Beck began pacing again. "You are right, we were friends before Hogwarts," he began slowly. "I screwed it up though." James nodded for Beck to continue. "I said some mean things. She said some mean things back, and we decided to not be friends anymore. We never spoke to each other until that day you set us up."

"You gave me absolutely no details," James whined. "I like Roxie though so I'll help you anyways. You've just got to wait for her to come to you."

"How is that supposed to help?"

"She will keep pushing you away until she realizes she wants you, just wait it out." James headed for the door, "By the way, if you had read ahead, you would have found that out." He ducked the spell Beck threw, his laughter echoing down the halls as he ran away.

* * *

Part Six- Wait for Her

**Just wait for Roxie to come to you. There's nothing you can really do at this point.**

_Makes sense for once. I applaud you James for speaking logically._

**I thought you realized I can be smart a while ago.**

_Then you do something stupid and then I have to remember that sometimes you aren't an idiot._

**I'm not an idiot, I'm a partial idiot.**

_Whatever that is. Where's Teddy?_

I'm here.

**Teddy, stop snogging Vic and PAY ATTENTION!**

I wasn't snogging Vic. That's a good idea James, keep it up.

_Oh he's so snogging her right now. Great job helping out the rest of us single lot._

* * *

_I'll just stay here forever,_ Roxanne thought as she stared up at the ceiling of her room. She had done a magnificent job of avoiding Beck over the past week, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. She would catch a glimpse of him every so often and feel his stare in class, but she still refused to speak to him. It was a Saturday, which usually meant she would wander around the castle looking for some bloke to fool around with, or travel to the kitchens with her brother. Instead, she was holed up in her room like some pathetic twit with a box of chocolates that Lily had brought her. She chucked another empty wrapper back into the box. _Pathetic_. She relaxed against the pillows on her bed and allowed her eyes to drift shut.

_She was hiding behind a large display of Daydream Charms, listening to her father wonder aloud where she was. She kept her hand clamped over her mouth to muffle her giggles but shrieked loudly when George lifted her up into the air. "There's my Roxie!" He laughed, setting her back down. "I'm glad that I finally found you, I was worried that you wouldn't be able to meet a friend of mine," his eyes twinkled. Roxanne looked up at a friendly looking woman, who gave her a wide smile. "This is Katie Fyre Roxie."_

_"Hullo," she said shyly, turning her face away from her._

_"It's a pleasure to meet you Roxanne," Mrs. Fyre said kindly. "But I'm sure someone else would love to meet you even more." She pulled a small boy out from hiding behind her. "This is Beckett, he's six just like you." The boy stared at her but didn't say a word._

_"How about you two play for a bit?" George asked, "We will be in the back."_

_Roxanne stared at the hazel eyed boy in front of her, and he stared back, quietly sizing each other up. "Want to see something cool?" She finally asked._

_He shrugged, "Sure." She could see that he was missing a couple of teeth._

_"My dad has some products that you'll love I think."_

_Beck lay on his stomach next to her, "Why are we hiding here?" The two of them were wedged into a small crawl space in the wall that allowed them to see the goings on in the store without being discovered. Roxanne was very proud of discovering the space, as far as she knew her parents and Fred didn't know about it._

_"I want to see the prank go off," Roxanne responded, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. When they were seven, the space was perfect for the two of them, but at nine, it was getting a bit too tight._

_"Isn't it obvious we did it?" Beck asked irritably, pushing her over to better see through the grate himself. "We could actually watch instead of being wedged in a wall that we can't fit in anymore."_

_"Come on Beck, we always do this."_

_"It's a stupid idea," he grumbled. There was a bang, and suddenly a cloud of dark smoke erupted into the air. There was a scream as her cousin Albus bolted out of the store, his face covered in multicolored spots._

_Roxanne erupted into laughter as his parents rushed out after him to put him right. His brother James was laughing his head off, while Lily looked around in confusion. "Brilliant! He's just too easy to mess with."_

_Beck was smiling, "Pretty brilliant as usual Rox."_

_"Don't expect anything different from me," she said with a wink, pushing on the grate to escape._

_She stared at the setting sun as she sat on the roof of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley. Her toes tapped an uneven rhythm on the roof. "Stop that annoying noise," Beck snapped as he pulled himself up next to her._

_"Don't tell me what to do, I'm bloody nervous for tomorrow."_

_"Why are you nervous?" He grinned, "We are both going to be in Gryffindor and torment the rest of your family."_

_"I hope you're right," Roxanne gave a nervous smile._

_"When am I not right?" He challenged._

_"You said that when the Pygmy Puffs escaped it was my fault. You were wrong there."_

_He made a face, but before he could retort his mother's call came, "Beck, time to go!"_

_Before he could leap down into the window on the second story they left open, Roxanne grabbed his arm, "What if the sorting splits us up?"_

_"It won't."_

_"But what if it does?" She pressed._

_He stared at her for a moment before quickly leaning in and brushing his lips to hers. "It won't, I promise." He dropped from sight. Roxanne stayed up on the roof until long after the sun had set, her fingers brushing against her lips with the ghost of a smile on her face._

_"Fyre, Beckett." Roxanne reluctantly let go of her possibly more than best friend's hand as he moved forward to be sorted. She clenched her fists together as he sat there for ages waiting for his fate to be decided._

_"SLYTHERIN!" She gasped, and he slowly stood up. When he took a place at his table, he glanced back up at her, his face white as a sheet. He couldn't be! There was no way that Beck, her Beck, could be a slimy Slytherin._

_She could barely remember arguing with the hat for her placement as a Gryffindor, using language that her mother would cringe if she heard. When she finally took her place amongst the scarlet clad students, she couldn't help but feel lost without her best friend._

_Three days later she and Beck were walking to lunch together. The two of them had pretended that nothing had changed. They ignored the fact that a green tie hung around his neck and a red around hers. "How's Gryffindork?" He grinned._

_"Fine, the girls seem nice. How's the dungeons? Enjoy being locked up with those Dark Arts gits?"_

_He frowned, "They aren't all that bad."_

_"Most of them are. I don't know how you ended up there."_

_"Maybe I'm a Dark Arts git too."_

_She laughed, "Right. You aren't bad, but that's why you should just stick with me. I'll introduce you to my friends-"_

_"I like the Slytherins."_

_Roxanne froze in the middle of the hallway, "You like them?"_

_"They aren't all stupid noble prats like the Gryffindors you are friends with."_

_"Am I a stupid noble prat then?" She curled her hands into fists._

_"No, you're a stupid ignorant prat."_

_"At least I'm not a snake!" She could feel herself shaking from repressed emotions._

_"I would rather be a snake than spend more time with you!"_

_Before Roxanne could understand what she was doing, she slapped him hard across the face. "Stay away from me," she said dangerously low. "Have fun rotting in the dungeons." Her tears didn't fall until she was two floors away from him. From that moment on, she vowed to do anything to make herself forget Beckett Fyre._

Her eyes snapped open to stare at the hangings above her bed. She didn't move as she tried to calm herself down. They weren't children anymore, and her eleven year old self was correct to stay away from him. Why did she feel torn up about the whole situation then? She still wanted to stay away from him, but she couldn't forget about him like she had before. Had she really forgotten about him though? All the times that their eyes met in classes over the years, the casual brushes if they passed in the halls begged to differ. Tired of being alone, she travelled downstairs to find seats next to James and Albus in the Common Room. Albus was openly staring at Lydia across the room while James gave him an amused look.

"You're pathetic," Roxanne said to Albus as she took a seat.

"I could say the same to you," he said distractedly.

James rolled his eyes, "He's getting worse. Soon he's going to start following her everywhere under the cloak."

"I'm not going to be a stalker," Albus said, turning around to glare at James.

"Scorp told me that you watch her on the map." Albus turned bright red, but didn't deny it.

"Al, I'm going to help you out," Roxanne said in annoyance, pulling out her wand. "Go ask her out right now, or I will hex your face to your arse."

His eyes widened, "You wouldn't."

"Would you like to test that theory? Choose which one of us is more frightening." Albus nearly sprinted over to where she was sitting working on homework. Roxanne felt a twinge of jealousy when Lydia smiled at him and the two of them left the room. Albus gave a cheerful wave at the two of them before climbing out of the portrait hole after her.

"You are a miracle worker," James said in awe. "I would have done that much sooner if I knew that it would work."

She pocketed her wand, "It only works if they are scared of you." James went back to scribbling away on his parchment, while Roxanne curled up in the chair. She gave a sigh, but James continued to write.

The next time, she sighed even louder, and James looked up at her, quirking an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

"I need something to do," Roxanne whined.

"You could do your homework." The two cousins stared at each other before bursting into laughter that caused the rest of the room to stare at them.

"Do you have any real ideas?" Roxanne said after she composed herself.

"Go snog someone," James turned back to his paper.

"There's no one! What are you working on anyways?" She reached out to snatch the parchment from him, but he jerked it away.

"Nope, you can't see my next project until you admit your feelings for Fyre."

She glared at him, "I don't have feelings for him!"

"Then why are you sulking dearest Roxiekins?"

"I'm in a slump," she said defensively. "Haven't you had one?"

"Nope," he said, popping his lips on the p. "Now get away, your bad attitude is bringing me down."

She stood up abruptly, "Fine! I'll happily leave."

"Wait," James checked his pockets until he found a small piece of parchment. "Take this."

She didn't look at what he handed her until she left the common room. The parchment was blank, much to her annoyance, but then she remembered where she had seen something like it before. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Ink spread across the page as Roxanne gazed at one of her cousin's most treasured items. She had seen the map before, sometimes in the hands of James, other times in Albus', but she had never heard of them lending it out. _Why did he give this to me?_ Her eyes landed on the name Beckett Fyre alone in the Astronomy Tower. _No_, she told herself sternly. _Walk away_.

* * *

The stairs to the Astronomy Tower loomed ahead of her, but Roxanne couldn't take another step. Years ago, she wouldn't hesitate to run up to him, but age had changed her. _Changed them_, she corrected. Childhood friends grew apart all the time, and somethings never were meant to be. Why then was she constantly thinking about him? She thought back over the past few year and realized with a jolt that her ridiculous behavior towards boys only started after Beck stopped speaking to her. _He's influenced me over these past few years more than I knew_, she thought in shock. Boldly, she stepped onto the staircase and began to climb. Beck was sitting with his legs dangling out of an open window, his hair blowing in the wind. His cloak was pulled tightly around him trying to block out the cold winter air. "Do you want to die?" She heard herself say, her tone more acidic than she would have liked.

He didn't bother to turn around, "Not particularly. Why do you ask?"

"Move over," she said, taking a seat next to him. "Well, you're sitting on top of a really tall tower freezing."

"Warming charm," he answered simply, still refusing to look at her.

"I think you are an idiot most of the time, but that's a good idea." She quickly cast a warming charm on herself.

He gave a small snort, "Way to make me feel good about myself."

"Your ego is so large that I don't think I could damage it if I tried."

"Oh you have," he said darkly.

Gathering the courage she could, she managed to say, "I don't know what I'm doing." Beck glanced over at her, and Roxanne was momentarily distracted by his guarded expression. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," he said quietly. "We did everything wrong didn't we?"

"I blame you Slytherin," she gave a small grin.

"But Gryffindork, it's all your fault as usual," he smiled back, and Roxanne saw the boy that she grew up with once again.

Carefully she laced her fingers through his, "I've never been a relationship, and I don't think I'm ready for one."

"I wouldn't say I've been in a real relationship either," he said giving her hand a small squeeze.

"I can't stop thinking about you though," she said, her voice pained. "I would be a terrible girlfriend, and I don't even know if you would want to go out with me-" He brushed his lips against hers, effectively silencing her. It was exactly the same as nearly six years ago when they kissed the first time, both hesitant, fearing the rejection of the other. He pulled away, searching her face. "I can't be in a real relationship," she weakly protested.

"We don't have to be in a real relationship," he suggested.

The idea seemed ridiculous to her at first, but after a minute she could see the possibilities. "I would like to spend a lot of time with you though."

"Would I be able to snog you?" He asked grinning wickedly, causing her stomach to do flips.

"Me and no one else; I want an exclusive non-relationship."

"Alright," he agreed.

"Where does that leave us?"

He thought for a moment, "Snog buddies?"

She burst out laughing before pressing a quick kiss to his lips, "Snog buddies it is." As the two of them sat atop the tower they began telling about everything that had happened over the years. About their friends, the Slytherins that weren't so bad after all and the Gryffindors that sometimes could be very stupid. All the way up to James, Albus, and Teddy conspiring to get them together. His arm around her, eyes only on her, Roxanne knew that she was just denying the fact that they were in a real relationship. When he walked her back to Gryffindor Tower that night and gave her a kiss that took her breath away, Roxanne was even more sure that they were embarking on more than just a casual thing. _I'm a stupid ignorant prat though, so I'll make him work to hear that._

* * *

**TEDDY!**

**You owe me ten Galleons!**

**Hugs, kisses, and pranks from your favorite almost cousin,**

**James**

**P.S.- The picture enclosed is what occurred when I transfigured Al's broomstick into a snake at practice the other day. Yes, he really is crying.**

* * *

**A/N: Wow this chapter is the longest I've ever written. As promised, I wrote Roxanne, but who would you like to see next? I posted a poll on my profile asking which Weasley you would like to see next. Vote and please review! ****If you want more insane James, pansy Al, or Teddy to stop snogging Victorie and actually pay attention, you've got to let me know.**

**I most likely won't be posting for a bit due to no internet access. Major bummer. I will be back around mid July armed with more ridiculousness.**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


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